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Divisioa  ^S  2§2.S 
Section         " 


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OCT  12  1923 


I  N     H  E  AV  EN; 


AS   INTERPRETED    BT   MEANS   OF 


c3-os:PEXi  Ec^TJiv-A-XiE2sra?s, 


ACCORDING    TO   THE 


PRINCIPLES    OF    SCRIPTURAL    ALGEBRA, 

BY  HENRY  HOUSEWORTH, 


AUTHOR  OF  THS  "PEDBBUBBIAN  SCHOOL  BOOKS,"  AND   "TBK  DAWN  OF  BBVELATION  UNVEILED. 


Printed  and  Bound  for  the  Author  by  th« 
ELM     STREET     PRINTING     CO.,      I76     ELM     ST, 

1868. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

HEin^-iT    nousE^woiS/Tia:, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States, 

for  the  Southern  District  of  Ohio. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Page 
Another  Wonder  in  Heaven 11 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Two  Witnesses 24 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Four  Living  Creatures 30 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Seven  Seals 49 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Lasj  Seven  Plagues 83 

Conclusion 109 


CIRCULAR 


To  all^  wTio  fear  God  and  work  vigMeous- 
ness,  the  author  sendeth  greeting. 

Dearly  Beloved: 

I  PRESENT  you  a  treatise  on  "The 
Last  Seven  Plagues,"  entitled  "  Another  Won- 
der IN  Heaven."  It  issues  from  the  press 
unattended  with  the  banner  of  any  religious 
denomination.  This  fact,  and  the  subject  of 
which  it  treats,  make  it  a  lone  and  solitary 
stranger.  A  stranger  it  acknowledges  itself 
to  be,  but  not  an  alien  or  an  enemy.  For  it 
professes  to  belong  to  the  fellow  citizens  of  the 
saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God.  You 
know  your  duty  to  strangers.  "  Be  not  forget- 
ful to  entertain  strangers,  for  some  have  enter- 


VI  CIRCULAR. 

tained  angels  unawares.  And  he  that  giveth 
a  cup  of  cold  water  to  a  disciple  shall  not 
lose  his  reward.  Prove  all  things,  and  hold 
fast  that  which  is  good." 

This  book  is  the  result  of  a  dream,  which, 
about  eight  years  ago,  excited  a  curiosity  to  in- 
vestigate the  book  of  Revelation  by  means  of 
gospel  equivalents.  The  interpretation  cor- 
responds with  the  nature  of  the  dream.  And 
all  parts  of  the  dream  have  been  fulfilled  ex- 
cept the  last,  which  is  the  reward  of  so  pro- 
tracted an  effort  under  discouraging  circum- 
stances. The  opportunity  to  revise  and  pre- 
pare the  manuscript  for  the  press  was  afforded 
during  the  lonely  hours  of  night,  while  watch- 
ing at  the  bedside  of  an  afflicted  child,  who 
was  returned  to  her  paternal  roof  despairing 
of  conjugal  felicity  and  every  other  human 
joy.  The  profits  of  this  book,  if  any,  will  be 
devoted  (as  long  as  shall  be  necessary)  to  cheer 
her  in  her  earthly  pilgrimage.  A  word  to  the 
wise  is  sufficient. 


IJVTRODUCTIOJ^. 


The  primary  object  of  writing  this  book  is  to 
verify  the  declaration  of  Scripture  which  saith : 
"The  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making 
wise  the  simple."  To  show  that  it  is  sure  in 
its  interpretation  as  well  as  in  the  fulfillment 
of  prophecy.  To  show  that  the  interpretation 
of  Scripture  is  capable  of  being  reduced  to  a 
mathematical  certainty. 

The  object  is  also  to  show  that  all  Scripture, 
given  by  inspiration  of  God,  is  profitable. 
That  a  special  blessing  is  conferred  by  reading, 
hearing,  and  keeping  the  words  recorded  in 
the  book  of  Revelation.  And  that  that  book 
is  not  a  sealed  book,  but  whoever  discards  it 
as  useless,  is  calling  that  a  mystery  which  God 


VIU  INTRODUCTION. 

calls  a  revelation,  and  is  also,  by  his  example, 
disobeying  the  command  given  to  John,  name- 
ly: "Seal  not  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of 
this  book."  And  whoever  puts  obstructions 
in  the  way  of  any  one  who  labors  by  his  time, 
and  means  to  show  the  utility  of  that  book,  is 
disobeying  the  command:  "Bear  ye  one 
another's  burdens,  and  thus  fulfill  the  law  of 
Christ." 

Let  us  follow  the  example  of  the  Bereans, 
who  searched  the  Scriptures  to  see  if  these 
things  were  so.  Because  it  is  written  in  Dan. 
xii.  4 :  "  Many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowl- 
edge shall  be  increased." 

Nor  have  we  reason  to  suppose  that  that 
prophecy  is  entirely  fulfilled  in  the  increase  of 
those  natural  sciences  which  chiefly  promote 
bodily  ease  and  enjoyment.  For  it  is  also 
written  in  Jeremiah  xxxi.  34 :  "  And  they  shall 
teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor, 
and  every  man  his  brother,  saying :  "  Know 
the  Lord:  for  they  shall  all  know  me,  from  the 
least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith 
the  Lord."    All  prophecies  of  Scripture  must 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

be  fulfilled.  And  it  is  recorded  in  Rev.  x.  7 : 
"But  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh 
angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound,  the  mys- 
tery of  God  should  be  finished,  as  he  has  de- 
clared to  his  servants  the  prophets."  And  it  is 
maintained  that  this  auspicious  day  is  now 
dawning  upon  the  Christian  world. 


CHAPTEK  I. 

ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

"  And  I  saw  another  sign  in  heaven,  great  and  marvelous, 
seven  angels  having  the  seven  last  plagues ;  for  in  them  ia 
filled  up  the  wrath  of  God." — Rev.  xv.  1. 

Another  implies  one  or  more  previous  to  it. 
Accordingly,  I  find  that  there  are  other  signs 
or  wonders  mentioned  in  Eev.  xii.  For  the 
same  word  in  the  Greek  is  variously  rendered 
sign  or  wonder.  The  first  is  the  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun.  And  the  second  is  the  great 
red  dragon.  And  that  we  may  have  a  better 
understanding  of  the  third,  which  is  the  chief 
subject  of  this  treatise,  I  will  briefly  interpret 


12  ANOTHER   WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

the  first  and  second  in  the  order  in  which  they 
occur.  The  first  mentioned  is  in  Rev.  xii.  1 : 
"And  there  appeared  a  great  wonder  in 
heaven;  a  woman  clothed  with  the  sun,  and 
the  moon  under  her  feet,  and  upon  her  head  a 
crown  of  twelve  stars."  The  solution  of  this 
figure,  according  to  the  algebraic  application 
of  gospel  equivalents,  makes  it  represent  the 
church  of  Christ  arrayed  as  the  bride  adorned 
for  her  husband  with  the  Mosaic  dispensation 
upon  which  to  stand,  and  the  gospel  radiating 
its  light  from  her  person,  as  the  sun  shineth  in 
his  glory,  and  the  teachings  of  the  twelve 
apostles  as  bright  stars  to  illuminate  her  crown 
of  glory. 

In  elucidating  the  figure — a  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun,  it  will  be  necessary  to  ascertain 
what  is  meant  by  the  word  sun.  It  is  recorded 
in  Mai.  iv.  2 :  "  But  unto  you  that  fear  my  name 
shall  the  Sun  of  righteousness  arise  with  heal- 
ing in  his  wings."  This  is  generally  understood 
to  refer  to  'Christ.  The  phrase  "  of  righteous- 
ness "  is  only  explanatory,  and  does  not  alter 
the  meaning.     The  comparison  of  Christ  to  the 


ANOTHER    WONDER    m  HEAVEN.  13 

sun  is  also  shown  by  his  transfiguration  recorded 
in  Matt.  xvii.  2 :  "  And  his  face  did  shine  as  the 
sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  the  light" 
And  this  agrees,  also,  with  the  description 
given  of  him  recorded  in  Rev.  i.  16,  "  and  his 
countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his 
strength."  From  this  scriptural  testimony,  I 
suppose  it  will  be  seen  that  Christ  is  equiva- 
lent to  sun,  and  the  words  Christ  and  sun  may 
be  substituted  for  each  other,  whenever  addi- 
tional clearness  of  idea  will  result  from  the 
operation.  And,  therefore,  to  be  clothed  with 
the  sun  is  equivalent  to  being  clothed  with  the 
sun  of  righteousness,  with  the  robe  o;f  Christ's 
righteousness,  or  with  Christ  himself.  Accord- 
ing as  it  is  written:  They  that  are. baptized 
into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ.  To  put  on  de- 
notes the  act  of  clothing,  or  being  clothed. 
The  next  unknown  figure  to  be  ascertained  is 
the  word  moon,  which  was  under  her  feet  I 
have  already  shown  that  Christ  was  the  sun 
or  sun  of  righteousness.  It  becomes  now  nec- 
essary to  find  another  gospel  equivalent  for 
sun  or  Christ,  which  will  bear  a  superior  rela- 


14  ANOTHER    WONDER   IN  HEAVEN. 

tion  to  the  unknown  value  or  signification  of 
moon.  And  tlie  equivalent  necessary  to  solve 
the  next  unknown  signification  will  prove  to 
be  the  gospel,  which  is  shown  to  be  equivalent 
to  Christ.  Because  to  preach  Christ  is  to 
preach  the  gospel.  It  is  recorded  in  John  i.  17 : 
"For  the  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace 
and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ."  For  the  pres- 
ent I  shall  assume  that  the  phrase  "  grace  and 
truth  "  are  equivalent  to  the  word  gospel.  If  so, 
the  algebraic  substitution  of  the  word  gospel 
for  the  phrase  "grace  and  truth,"  we  have  a 
new  declaration,  the  law  was  given  by  Moses, 
but  the  gospel  came  by  Jesus  Christ.  And  it 
is  obvious  that  the  law  given  by  Moses  was  the 
next  inferior  dispensation  to  the  gospel.  It 
then  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  gospel  as 
the  moon  in  the  natural  world  does  to  the  sun. 
The  moon,  then,  that  was  under  her  feet  was 
the  law  of  Moses. 

But  that  this  substitution  of  equivalents  shall 
not  merely  rest  on  the  assumption  that  the 
phrase  "  grace  and  truth  "  is  equivalent  to  the 
word  gospel,  I  shall  endeavor  to  prove  that  the 


ANOTHER   WONDER    IN   HEAVEN.  15 

phrase  means  exactly  the  gospel — nothing 
more  and  nothing  less.  In  algebraic  language 
grace  and  truth  may  be  considered  bound  to- 
gether by  a  vinculum.  For  the  signification 
of  the  two  words  must  be  combined.  And 
hence  the  declaration  becomes  true,  that  truth 
is  all  the  word  of  God,  but  grace  and  truth  is 
only  a  part  of  it,  which  may  be  seen  thus :  A 
noun  without  an  article,  or  other  restrictive 
word  or  phrase  to  limit  it,  is  generally  taken  in 
its  widest  sense.  A  candid  temper  is  proper 
for  man,  that  is  all  manldnd.  A  man  is  any 
man,  but  only  one  man  taken  without  distinc- 
tion from  the  mass.  A  man  of  learning  is  one 
man,  who  may  be  selected  from  all  the  learned 
class,  which  is  more  limited.  A  man  of  learn- 
ing and  piety  must  be  selected  from  the  learned 
and  pious,  which  still  restricts  and  diminishes 
the  class.  So,  also,  grace  and  truth,  are  so  much 
of  truth  or  of  the  word  of  God  as  is  a  grace 
or  favor,  and  includes  only  the  gospel.  For 
the  law  given  to  Adam  was  not  a  favor,  but  the 
natural  result  of  his  relation  to  his  Creator. 


16       ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

But  the  gospel  was  a  favor  purchased  by  the 
blood  of  Christ. 

I  have  asserted  that  truth  is  all  the  word  of 
God.  For  it  is  written  in  John  xvii.  17 :  "Sanc- 
tify them  through  thy  truth :  thy  word  is  truth. 
Thy  word  is  all  the  word  of  God,  a  part  of 
which  is  a  favor,  and  a  part  not.  It,  therefore, 
becomes  necessary  to  substract  law  at  his 
mouth:  "For  he  is  the  messenger  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts." — ^Mal.  ii.  7.  A  pastor  is  the  priest  of  the 
gospel  dispensation,  and  a  messenger  is  an 
angel.  Things  that  are  equal  to  the  same  are 
equal  to  each  other.  Therefore,  the  seven 
angels,  are  the  pastors  of  the  seven  churches 
of  Asia. 

"Which  stood  before  God"  The  seven  stars 
are  represented  to  be  held  in  Christ's  right 
hand.  He  is  represented  as  standing  at  the 
golden  altar  before  the  throne.  And,  more- 
over, Christ  is  represented  in  Rev.  i.  13,  as 
being  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden  candle- 
sticks. And  in  verse  twentieth,  the  seven  can- 
dle sticks  are  declared  to  be  the  seven  churches. 
A  pastor's  business  and  duties  are  with   his 


ANOTHER   WONDER    IN    HEAVEN.  17 

flock  or  church.  And  if  Christ  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks,  and  his  place 
was  at  the  golden  altar  before  the  throne,  and 
the  seven  stars  were  in  his  right  hand,  they, 
also,  must  be  situated  before  the  throne  of  God. 

"And  to  them  were  given  seven  trumpets." 
The  trumpet  is  an  instrument  of  publication  or 
proclamation;  as  is  also  a  book.  They  are, 
therefore,  equivalents.  The  seven  trumpets 
are  the  seven  copies  of  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion, which  John  was  commanded  to  write  and 
send  to  the  churches  of  Asia.  According  as  it 
is  written,  "  What  thou  seest,  write  in  a  book 
and  send  it  unto  the  seven  churches  which  are  in 
Asia." — ^Rev.  i.  11.  They  were  to  declare  the  con- 
tents of  the  book,  like  as  if  they  proclaimed 
them  with  a  trumpet.  According  as  it  is 
written  in  Isa.  Iviii.  1 :  ''  Cry  aloud,  spare  not, 
lift  up  thy  voice  as  a  trumpet,  and  show  my 
people  their  transgression,  and  the  house  of 
Jacob  their  sins." 

Rev.  viii.  3:  "And  another  angel  came  and 
stood  at  the  altar,  having  a  golden  censer;  and 
there  was  given  unto  him  much  incense,  that  he 


i8  ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

should  offer  it  with  the  prayers  of  all  saints 
upon  the  golden  altar  which  was  before  the 
throne."  The  golden  censer,  golden  altar,  and 
the  incense  with  the  prayers  of  all  saints  are 
the  names  of  things  and  persons  in  both  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments.  They,  therefore, 
need  not  be  solved  by  gospel  equivalents,  or 
take  from  the  whole  word  of  God' so  much  as 
is  not  a  favor  or  grace,  in  order  to  make  the 
remainder  a  favor  or  grace.  But  if  a  part  were 
taken  away,  what  remains  must  be  less  than 
the  whole  before  any  was  taken  therefrom. 
Therefore,  grace  and  truth  combined  must  be 
less  than  truth  alone.  And  this  combination 
is  nothing  else  than  the  gospel.  For  the  gos- 
pel is  a  favor,  and  the  chief  part  of  the  truth 
or  word  of  God.  Because  all  other  parts  were 
written  to  substantiate  and  enforce  its  princi- 
ples and  duties. 

Now  the  gospel  is  compared  with  law  given 
by  Moses.  But  I  have  shown  that  Christ  is  the 
sun  of  righteousness,  and  to  preach  Christ  is  to 
preach  the  gospel.  Therefore,  the  sun  of  right- 
eousness or  the  gospel  is  compared  to  the  law 


ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN.  19 

of  Moses,  and  is  greater  than  it.  Now,  the 
next  inferior  light  to  the  sun  in  the  natural 
world  is  the  moon,  which,  therefore,  represents 
the  law  of  Moses.  And  if  Christ  or  the  gos- 
pel is  the  sun,  and  the  law  of  Moses  is  the 
moon,  the  teachings  of  the  twelve  apostles  are 
the  stars  which  adorn  the  head  of  the  woman 
clothed  with  the  sun.  She  is  the  Lamb's  wife, 
the  Christian  Church,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband.  Her  husband  is  king 
of  kings,  and  lord  of  lords.  She  must,  there- 
fore, wear  a  crown.  But  of  what  is  her  crown 
composed.  The  moon  or  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion is  the  foundation  upon  which  she  stands. 
For  the  church  is  built  upon  the  foundation  of 
the  apostles  and  prophets — Jesus  Christ,  him- 
self, being  the  chief  corner-stone.  The  proph- 
ets are  included  in  the  Mosaic  dispensation, 
which  is  a  foundation  beneath  her  feet  The 
sun,  which  is  the  bright  apparel  of  this  bride, 
is  the  gospel  as  taught  by  the  four  evangelists, 
which  is  proved  to  be  true  by  the  prophecies 
concerning  Christ,  recorded  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.   And  the  teachings  and  recorded  prac- 


20       ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

tice  of  the  twelve  apostles  are  necessary  to 
crown  the  whole,  to  make  the  church  a  queen 
worthy  of  her  husband  and  lord. 

As  the  moon  in  the  natural  world  receives 
its  light  from  the  sun,  so,  also,  the  Mosaic  dis- 
pensation shines  with  light  reflected  from  the 
gospel.  Moses  and  Christ  were  both  lawgivers, 
and,  as  such,  were  superior  to  the  apostles,  who 
were  not  endowed  with  that  dignity.  Yet  their 
teachings  were  bright  lights  to  enlighten  what 
would  otherwise  be  comparatively  dark  and 
obscure  in  the  moral  and  religious  world. 

But  it  may  be  asked  how  can  the  church, 
which  is  organized  on  earth,  be  called  a  won- 
der in  heaven  ?  To  this  it  is  replied  that  the 
church  of  Christ  is  a  wonder  to  the  angels  of 
heaven  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  earth.  For 
it  is  written,  the  angels  desire  to  look  into  it. 
They  desire  to  contemplate  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion, and  rejoice  over  one  sinner  that  repent- 
eth.  It  is  also  a  wonder  to  the  redeemed  who 
constitute  the  kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth. 
In  other  words,  it  is  a  wonder  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  or  gospel  dispensation.    According 


ANOTHER   WONDER   IN    HEAVEN.  21 

as  it  is  written,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand,  meaning  the  gospel  dispensation.  For  it 
commences  on  earth,  and  ends  in  the  glorified 
state  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven.  And  as  the 
gospel  dispensation,  the  heaven  spoken  of  in 
the  text,  has  its  primary  organization  on  earth, 
so,  also,  it  is  a  wonder  to  the  wicked,  both 
angels  and  men.  According  as  it  is  written, 
the  devils  believe  and  tremble,  which  is  doing 
more  than  is  done  by  wicked  men.  For  it  is 
written  in  Acts  xiii.  41:  "For  I  work  a  work 
in  your  days,  a  work  which  ye  shall  in  nowise 
believe,  though  a  man  declare  it  unto  you." 
And  the  Jews  are  a  standing  monument  of  un- 
belief. The  organization  of  the  Christian  Church 
and  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecies  concern- 
ing it  were  too  wonderful  for  their  acceptance 
and  belief. 

THE  SECOND  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

It  is  recorded  in  Ke v.  xii.  3  :  "  And  there  ap- 
peared another  wonder  in  heaven ;  and  behold 
a  great  red  dragon,  having  seven  heads  and 
ten  horns,  and  seven  crowns  upon  his  heads." 


22  ANOTHER   WONDER    IN   HEAVEN 

This  wonder  is  two-fold,  namely  :  spiritual  and 
temporal.  The  spirit  or  soul  of  this  great  red 
dragon  is  Satan  himself  breathing  into,  and 
giving  life  and  vigor  to  a  political  organization 
among  men,  which  for  ages  has  worked  out  his 
diabolical  purposes.  It  is  wonderful  why  Satan, 
possessing  angelic  powers,  and  seeing  the  un- 
veiled glory  of  the  Almighty  should  so  far 
forget  his  duty  and  interest  as  to  rebel  against 
his  righteous  government.  And  it  is  also  won- 
derful that  in  after  ages  the  spirit  of  evil  should 
employ  agents,  and  centralize  his  power  to 
seek  conquests  from  the  followers  of  the  Lamb. 
And  it  is  equally  due  to  his  malignity  and  per- 
severance that  he  should  establish  his  sway  to 
60  great  an  extent  as  to  obtain  prominent 
places  in  the  earth  as  the  seat  of  his  dominion. 
The  Roman  empire,  the  body  wherein  dwelt 
the  spirit  of  evil,  seated  upon  the  seven-hilled 
city,  persecuting  the  church  of  the  Most  High 
was  a  wonder  in  many  respects.  It  was  terri- 
ble to  its  enemies  in  the  day  of  battle,  and  in 
its  infancy  magnanimous  .to  its  captured  ene- 
mies, but  unrelenting  in  its  persecutions  of 


ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN.  23 

Christianity.  The  second  wonder  exhibits  the 
malignity  of  Paganism  and  irreligion  as  op- 
posed to  Christianity.  It  is  the  wrath  of  man. 
But  the  third  wonder  is  greater  as  it  compriseth 
the  wrath  of  God. 

ANOTHER  WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

It  is  recorded  in  Rev.  xv.  1:  "And  I  saw 
another  sign  in  heaven,  great  and  marvelous, 
seven  angels  having  the  seven  last  plagues ; 
for  in  them  is  filled  up  the  wrath  of  God." 
The  third  wonder  in  heaven,  or  in  the  gospel 
dispensation  exhibits  God's  special  protection 
of  his  church,  and  his  providential  care  in  over- 
ruling the  evil  passions  of  men  to  build  up  his 
church  on  earth.  It  is  wonderful  that  men 
possessing  the  will  and,  apparently,  the  ability 
to  defeat  some  prophecies  should  be  deterred 
from  so  doing  without  any  apparent  constraint. 
And  this  only  exhibits  the  great  power  and 
glory  of  God,  in  concealing  from  men  so  much 
of  his  purposes  as  they  would  be  disposed  to 
defeat,  if  they  knew  them.  And,  again,  it  is 
wonderful  that  he  should  dictate  a  book  which 


24  ANOTHER   WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

should  be  the  conclusion  of  all  prophecies,  and 
yet  only  so  much  of  it  be  understood  in  differ- 
ent ages  of  the  world  as  would  be  conducive 
to  his  glory  and  accomplish  his  designs. 

The  last  seven  plagues  is  a  wonder  on  many 
accounts.  It  is  a  wonder  that  the  book  of 
Revelation,  which  contains  an  account  of  them, 
should  not  be  thoroughly  understood  until  they 
are  completed.  This  fact  is  in  accordance  with 
the  prophecy  concerning  them.  The  book 
which  contains  an  'account  of  them  is  properly 
called  a  Revelation,  and  John  was  commanded 
not  to  seal  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book.  And  this  book  I  understand  to  be  that 
little  open  book  which  John  was  told  to  eat 
It  was,  in  his  mouth,  sweet  as  honey,  but  after 
it  was  eaten  it  was  bitter.  So  men  have 
thought  this  book  to  be  a  glowing  picture  of 
heavenly  bliss,  but,  when  fully  understood,  I 
think  it  proves  to  be  a  lesson  of  earthly  duty, 
and  a  prophecy  of  calamity  to  the  human  race. 
Like  as  the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of  the 
testimony  in  heaven  was  opened,  and  no  man 
was  able  to  enter  into  the  temple  till  the  seven 


ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN.  25 

plagues  of  the  seven  angels  were  fulfilled.  So, 
also,  with  the  prophecy  of  the  last  seven 
plagues  fully  declared  to  men ;  and  all  the 
principles  of  interpretation  fully  understood; 
no  man  has  heretofore  so  combined  those  prin- 
ciples as  to  make  them  available  to  interpret 
that  book.  And  if  this  interpretation  is  correct, 
what  has  baffled  the  mightiest  intellects  pos- 
sessing ponderous  volumes  of  theological  lore 
and  lives  of  leisure  to  read  them,  if  the  provi- 
dence of  God  is  introduced  in  a  manner  that 
appears  accidental  by  wayfaring  men,  destitute 
of  profound  biblical  attainments?  Well  may 
the  inspired  penman  designate  the  last  seven 
plagues  as  another  sign  or  wonder  in  heaven, 
or  the  gospel  dispensation,  great  and  marvel- 
ous. For  in  them  is  filled  up  the  wrath  of  God. 
For  the  complete  outpouring  of  the  last  seven 
plagues  constitutes  a  prophetic  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  because  it  closes  up  an 
administration  of  displeasure  and  wrath,  ai.d 
introduces  one  of  mercy  and  benignity. 


ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE    TWO    WITNESSES. 


The  knowledge  which  mankind  have  of  the 
last  seven  plagues  is  primarily  and  chiefly  de- 
rived from  the  word  of  God,  contained  in  the 
book  of  Revelation.  For,  although  it  might 
be  possible  for  man,  after  the  accomplishment  of 
those  plagues  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
to  see  and  acknowledge  the  dispensation  of  God 
in  those  judgments,  yet  it  is  highly  probable 
they  would  not  have  classified  them  into  seven 
divisions,  nor  have  had  very  clear  ideas  of  their 
design  and  results.  In  illustrating  the  subject, 
therefore,  the  introductory  evidence  must  be 
chiefly  derived  from  the  word  of  God.  But 
the  final  development  of  the  subject,  or  the 
identification  of  the  last  seven  plagues,  sever- 
ally, admits  of  collateral  evidence  taken  from 


THE     TWO    WITNESSES.  27 

authentic  history,  whether  human  or  divine. 
There  are,  therefore,  two  witnesses  graciously 
afforded  us,  so  that,  by  their  united  testimony, 
every  word  shall  be  established. 

These  are  the  two  witnesses  mentioned  in 
Rev.  xi.  3,  who  should  prophecy  twelve  hun- 
dred and  sixty  days,  clothed  in  sackcloth.  For 
these  witnesses  are  not  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments, as  some  suppose.  The  union  of  the 
latter  constitute  the  testimony  of  one  witness, 
which  is  the  written  word  of  God.  For,  as  in 
the  natural  world,  day  and  night  constitute  one 
legal  day,  or,  as  the  Scriptures  declare,  the 
evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first  day. 
So,  also,  the  evidence  of  the  brighter  light  of 
the  gospel,  and  the  inferior  light  of  the  Mosaic 
dispensation  constitute  the  written  testimony 
of  one  witness.  And  as  the  laws  of  men  are 
divided  into  two  kinds,  the  written  and  the  un- 
written law,  60,  also,  God's  will  or  law  to 
man  is  made  known  by  his  written  law,  or  the 
Bible,  and  by  his  unwritten  law,  which  is  con- 
tained in  his  works  of  creation  and  providence. 
"  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  ere- 


ZO       ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

ation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being 
understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even 
his  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  so  that  they 
are  without  excuse." — Rom.  i.  20.  Our  knowl- 
edge of  God's  will  is  derived  from  the  book  of 
Inspiration  and  the  book  of  Providence.  The 
book  of  Inspiration  usually  affords  us  the  gen- 
eral proposition  or  truth,  which  we  have  to 
carry  out  in  detail.  And  our  minds  are  as- 
sisted in  this  effort  by  the  book  of  Providence, 
which  affords  us  the  details,  which  have  to  be 
generalized.  The  agreement  of  these  two 
sources  of  information  is  the  highest  evidence 
attainable  by  man.  For  one  is  the  infallible 
teachings  of  God's  word,  and  the  other  is  the 
undeniable  history  of  the  past. 

In  referring  you  to  the  scriptural  authority 
for  the  use  of  two  witnesses,  I  will  mention, 
first,  the  one  who  is  spoken  of  in  Rev.  i.  6 : 
"And  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  faithful 
witness  and  the  first  begotten  of  the  dead." 
To  his  testimony  you  will  make  no  objection. 
He  is  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith. 
And  as  our  system  of  faith  is  taught  in  the 


THE    TWO    WITNESSES.  29 

Scriptures  you  will  receive  them  as  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus  Christ.  Moreover,  Christ  is  de- 
clared to  be  the  Word  of  God,  as  we  also  ac- 
knowledge the  Scriptures  to  be.  Therefore, 
the  Bible  is  one  of  the  witnesses,  which  I  sup- 
pose will  be  received  as  such  accordingly.  For 
you  may  notice  that  the  Scriptures  and  the 
word  of  God  are  equivalent,  meaning  the  same 
book.  And  as  Christ  is  declared  to  be  the 
word  of  God,  therefore,  if  Christ  is  the  faithful 
witness,  the  Scriptures  are  also ;  especially  as 
they  are  his  written  testimony.  And  as  human 
laws  admit  oral  or  spoken  testimony,  so,  also, 
the  depositions  or  written  testimony  of  wit- 
nesses that  are  absent. 

The  other  witness,  by  whose  testimony  I  un- 
dertake to  prove  the  identity  of  the  last  seven 
plagues,  is  the  book  of  Providence,  containing 
the  designs  and  will  of  God,  as  revealed  in  his- 
tory. It  is  recorded  in  Kom.  i.  20:  "For  the 
invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation  of 
the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood 
by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal 
power  and  Godhead."    It  is  also  declared  in 


30       ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

Scripture,  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them. 
So,  also,  the  reason  of  human  law  supposes 
that  every  intelligent  being  designs  the  inevit- 
able consequences  of  his  acts.  For  if  a  ra- 
tional man  should  present  a  pistol  to  your  breast, 
and  demand  your  money  or  your  life,  and,  if  in 
failing  to  receive  the  former,  he  takes  the  lat- 
ter, the  laws  of  men  presume  that  he  intended 
murder.  But  this  rule  of  interpreting  design 
or  intention  is  not  confined  to  man  alone,  but 
is  true  in  regard  to  all  intelligence i,  whether 
man,  the  angelic  hosts  of  light  or  darkness, 
and,  also,  in  regard  to  the  great  Supreme  Kuler 
of  all  intelligences.  For  it  is  written,  he  doeth 
his  will  among  the  armies  of  heaven,  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  earth.  Now,  if  we 
can  ascertain  by  any  means  what  God  doeth, 
we  can  also  ascertain  his  will.  For  he  doeth 
his  will.  It  would  not,  of  course,  be  proper  to 
attribute  anything  to  the  Supreme  Being  as 
his  work,  unless  it  corresponds  with  his  attri- 
butes of  wisdom,  justice  and  benevolence. 

But  results  corresponding  to  these  attributes 
have  been  known  to  proceed  from  the  defeated 


rUE    TWO   WITNESSES.  31 

projects  of  wicked  and  malicious  men.  The 
religious  world  have  not  feared  to  attribute 
such  results  to  God's  special  Providence. 
These  in  detail,  one  after  another,  have  been 
attributed  to  our  benevolent  Creator.  But 
none,  to  my  knowledge,  have  seen  fit  to  gen- 
eralize these  detached  works  attributed  to  God 
as  his  work,  and  from  them  show  his  design  or 
will.  Yet  such  repeated  results  give  as  unmis- 
takable evidence  of  design  in  the  moral  world, 
as  does  the  uniformity  of  the  laws  of  nature 
show  God's  design  in  them.  I  presume  what 
is  acknowledged  to  be  true  in  detail,  will  not 
be  denied  when  combined  in  a  general  form. 
So,  I  conclude,  that  the  works  of  Providence 
will  be  allowed  as  a  competent  witness,  and 
will  constitute  the  second  witness  by  which 
the  propositions  of  tliis  book  will  be  proved. 


32  ANOTHER   WONDER    IN  IIEaiVEN. 


CHAPTER    in. 

THE   FOUR  LIVING   CREATURES. 

It  is  recorded  in  Rev.  xv.  7,  8 :  "  And  one  of 
the  four  beasts  gave  unto  the  seven  angels 
seven  golden  vials  full  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
who  liveth  forever  and  ever.  And  the  temple 
was  filled  with  smoke  from  the  glory  of  God, 
and  from  his  power;  and  no  man  was  able  to 
enter  into  the  ternple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of 
the  seven  angels  were  fulfilled." 

The  correct  identification  of  the  four  living 
creatures,  as  the  phrase  "  the  four  beasts " 
might  more  properly  be  translated,  gives  the 
proper  clew,  as  I  believe,  to  the  unfolding  of 
all  the  mysteries  of  the  book  of  Revelation. 
For,  although  it  might  be  possible  to  have  a 
proper  understanding  of  those  personages,  and 
yet  be   able   to   solve   but  few  of  the   mys- 


THE   FOUK  LIVING   CREATURES.  33 

teries  of  that  book.  Yet,  if  they  are  not  cor- 
rectly ascertained,  it  is,  as  I  suppose,  impossi- 
ble to  have  correct  views  of  the  figurative  ex- 
pressions contained  in  that  book.  They  hold 
conspicuous  stations  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
or  gospel  dispensation ;  and  may,  therefore,  be 
supposed  to  be  holy  men  or  holy  angels.  But 
if  it  can  be  proved  that  they  belong  to  the 
human  family,  we  may  reasonably  look  for 
them  in  familiar  personages,  described  in  in- 
spired or  human  history, 

*  These  four  living  creatures  appear  to  be  lead- 
ers of,  and  superior  in  station  to,  the  four  and 
twenty  elders.  For  the  latter  seem  to  obey 
their  direction.  For  it  is  written  in  Rev.  iv.  9 : 
"And  when  those  beasts  give  glory  and  honor 
and  thanks  to  him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  who 
liveth  forever  and  ever,  the  four  and  twenty 
elders  fall  down  before  him  that  sat  on  the 
throne,  and  worship  him  that  liveth  forever 
and  ever."  Their  number  being  four,  does  not 
allow  us  to  identify  them  with  Peter  and  Paul, 
individually  or  collectively,  as  holding  chief 
supremacy  in   the   church,  the   kingdom   of 


34  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

heaven,  or  the  gospel  dispensation.  Nor  do  we 
appear  authorized  to  look  to  the  Old  Testament 
dispensation  for  the  identification  of  these  per- 
sonages called  the  four  beasts  or  living  crea- 
tures. For  it  is  written  in  Matt.  xi.  9, 11 :  "What 
went  ye  out  for  to  see?  A  prophet?  yea,  I  say 
unto  you,  and  more  than  a  prophet.  Verily  I 
say  unto  you,  among  them  that  are  born  of 
women  there  hath  not  risen  a  greater  than 
John  the  Baptist :  notwithstanding,  he  that  is 
least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater  than 
he."  If  the  four  and  twenty  elders  are  apos- 
tles and  prophets,  because  the  church  is  built 
on  the  testimony  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
there  would  seem  to  be  no  other  distinguished 
personages  left  who  could  occupy  so  conspic- 
uous a  station,  unless  they  were  the  four  evan- 
gelists. These  correspond  in  their  number,  in 
the  equality  of  their  office,  and  in  the  superi- 
ority of  the  station  they  occupy.  And  the  fig- 
urative description  of  them,  unitedly  and  sev- 
erally, seems  to  show  the  duties  and  import- 
ance of  their  social  position. 

if  the  four  beasts  or  living  creatures  are  the 


THE   FOUR   LIVING   OKEATUKES.  35 

four  evangelists,  the  one  that  gave  to  the  seven 
angels  the  seven  golden  vials  full  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  was  John  the  Revelator,  w  ho  was  also 
one  of  the  evangelists.  The  book  of  Revela- 
tion asserts  that  John  the  Revelator  wrote  this 
book  unto  the  seven  churches  of  Asia.  The 
word  angel  means  messenger.  And  it  is  re- 
corded in  Mai.  ii.  7 :  "  For  the  priest's  lips  should 
keep  knowledge.  For  he  is  the  messenger  of 
the  Lord  of  hosts."  The  gospel  equivalent  for 
gold  is  wisdom,  and  for  golden  is  wise,  which 
may  be  seen  in  the  following  manner :  Wisdom 
is  more  precious  than  rubies,  and  the  gold  of 
Ophir  can  not  be  compared  unto  it.  Although 
it  is  said  that  the  gold  of  Ophir  can  not  be 
compared  unto  it,  nevertheless,  by  comparison, 
gold  is  declared  to  be  inferior  to  it,  but  is  the 
most  valuable  substance  in  the  material  world, 
as  wisdom  is  the  most  precious  in  the  moral 
and  intellectual  world.  It  is,  therefore,  the 
only  equivalent  that  can  be  found  for  wisdom, 
and  is  used  in  all  the  passages  of  Revelation 
as  its  equivalent.  We  must,  therefore,  con- 
clude that  the  golden  vials  which  contained 


36  ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

the  seven  last  plagues  were  the  seven  copies 
of  the  book  of  Eevelation,  dictated  by  divine 
wisdom,  and  sent  to  the  seven  churches  of 
Asia.  This  book  contained  the  prophecy  of 
these  plagues,  which  was  sufficient  guarantee 
of  their  fulfillment.  The  seven  pastors  of  the 
seven  churches  of  Asia  may,  therefore,  be  said 
to  have  received  the  container  of  those  plagues 
which  the  vials  are,  when  they  received  the 
book  which  contained  the  prophecy  of  those 
plagues.  For  God's  word  shall  not  return  unto 
him  void,  but  shall  accomplish  that  whereunto 
it  was  sent. 

But  as  I  have,  for  the  sake  of  convenience, 
only  supposed  that  the  four  beasts  or  living 
creatures  were  the  four  evangelists,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  produce  further  evidence  in  sup- 
port of  that  opinion.  So,  then,  I  undertake,  first, 
to  prove  by  the  Scriptures  that  they  belong  to 
the  human  family.  And,  secondly,  I  shall  pro- 
duce the  gospel  equivalents  to  exhibit  their 
individual  characteristics,  by  wliicli  they  are 
designated  in  the  Scriptures  ;  as  Matthew,  the 
publican  or  tax-gatherer ;  Mark,  the  brief  wri- 


THE  FOUR  LIVrNG  CREATUEES.  37 

ter;  Luke,  the  accomplished  scholar;  and 
John,  the  bosom  companion  of  our  Lord,  de- 
scending to  the  grave  in  peace.  These  are 
more  sure  and  certain  representations  than  if 
designated  by  their  names  or  bodily  features. 

That  these  four  beasts  or  living  creatures 
belong  to  the  human  family,  is  evident  from 
Kev.  V.  8,  9  :  "And  when  he  had  taken  the 
book,  the  four  beasts  and  four  and  twenty 
elders  fell  down  before  the  Lamb,  having  every 
one  of  them  harps,  and  golden  vials  full  of 
odors,  which  are  the  prayers  of  saints.  And 
they  sung  a  new  song,  saying.  Thou  art  worthy 
to  take  the  book,  and  to  open  the  seal  thereof: 
for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to 
God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  and  nation."  Christ  was 
made  under  the  law,  to  redeem  those  who  were 
under  the  law.  And  we  have  no  account  of 
any,  but  the  human  race,  that  have  been  re- 
deemed. And  this  is  also  supported  by  the 
testimony  of  Kev.  xiv.  3  :  "  And  they  sung  as  it 
were  a  new  song  before  the  throne,  and  before 
the  four  beasts,  and  the  elders ;  and  no  man 


38  ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

could  learn  that  song  but  the  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  thousand,  which  were  redeemed  from 
the  earth."  From  the  last  testimony  it  is  evi- 
dent that  none  but  the  redeemed  could  learn 
that  song ;  and  from  the  first  testimony,  that 
the  four  beasts  or  living  creatures,  and  the  four 
and  twenty  elders  actually  joined  in  that  song. 
The  song,  in  both  instances,  is  called  a  new 
song,  and  is,  therefore,  presumed  to  be  the 
same.  It  was  the  song  of  the  redeemed — of 
the  four  and  twenty  elders,  and  of  the  one  hun- , 
dred  and  forty  and  four  thousand,  which  were 
sealed  of  all  the  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  of  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could 
number  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  peo- 
ple, and  tongues,  who  had  come  out  of  great 
tribulation,  and  had  washed  their  robes,  and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
This  new  song  was,  doubtless,  joined  in  con- 
jointly by  them  all,  although  the  four  living 
creatures,  and  the  four  and  twenty  elders,  taken 
separately  from  the  rest,  may  not  have  been 
of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and 
nation.    The   four   beasts,   and   the   four   and 


THE   FOUR   LIVING   CREATURES.  39 

twenty  elders  consequently  belonged  to  the 
human  family.  Angels  could  not  learn  that 
song,  for  they  could  not,  with  propriety,  say 
what  was  not  true.  For  angels  were  never  re- 
deemed. Wicked  angels  never  received,  and 
holy  angels  never  needed,  redemption.  We 
can  not,  therefore,  look  for  the  four  beasts  or 
living  creatures  among  the  angels  of  light. 
And  the  angels  of  darkness  have  no  desire  to 
be  placed  so  near  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb.  Now,  these  four  living  creatures  hold 
a  conspicuous  part  in  the  kingdom,  which  is 
represented  by  the  throne  and  the  seats  of  the 
.elders.  And,  as  they  belong  to  the  human 
family,  we  must,  consequently,  look  for  them 
among  some  who  have  held  important  offices 
in  the  kingdom  of  grace.  And,  accordingly, 
the  four  evangelists  occupy  that  position  in 
regard  to  other  men.  And  although  I  can  not 
produce  direct  Scripture  testimony  calling 
these  four  living  creatures  the  four  evangelists, 
yet  I  expect  to  prove  by  the  established  char- 
acteristics of  animated  nature,  by  which  they 
are  represented,  and  the  scriptural  usage  of  the 


40        ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

same,  that  they  identically  represent  the  bio- 
graphieal  characteristics  of  these  four  evangel- 
ists, found  recorded  in  the  sacred  Scriptures. 
And  especially  do  I  expect  it  to  be  fully  appar- 
ent, after  quoting  numerous  passages  from  the 
writings  of  these  evangelists,  which  will  prove 
what  is  set  forth  on  the  opening  of  the  four 
seals,  when  the  four  beasts  or  living  creatures 
are  represented  to  say,  "  come  and  see."  For 
it  is  a  remarkable  coincidence,  that  numerous 
passages  introduced  in  their  connection  with 
the  words  "come  and  see"  should  precisely 
disclose  the  picture  or  representation  exhibited 
by  the  opening  of  the  seals,  recorded  in  the 
sixth  chapter.  This  coincidence  is  very  appa- 
rent— is  at  least  beautiful — and  to  my  mind 
affords  evidence  of  inspired  design.  Nor  have 
I,  among  the  numerous  individuals  to  whom  I 
have  exhibited  this  coincidence,  met  a  person, 
learned  orunlearned,  who  denied  its  efficacy 
or  beauty. 

The  four  beasts  agree  in  this  particular, 
namely,  in  having  eyes  before  and  behind. 
Eyes  denote  wisdom ;  and  before  and  behind 


i 

THE   FOUR  LIVING   CREATURES.  11 

denote  the  future  and  the  past.  The  four  evan- 
gelists agree  in  the  iDOssession  and  distribution 
of  knowledge  of  future  and  past  transactions. 
History  and  prophecy  are  some  of  the  means 
used  by  the  sacred  i)enmen  to  diffuse  divine 
wisdom.  And  these  are  conspicuous  in  the  four 
evangelists.  Although  all  the  holy  men  of  God, 
in  inditing  the  sacred  Scriptures,  spake  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  yet,  in  so  do- 
ing, they  did  not  lose  their  identity,  or  distin- 
guishable traits  of  character.  The  disciples 
of  Christ  were  called  from  various  pursuits  of 
life,  and  under  various  circumstances.  And  in 
their  intercourse  with  other  men,  whether  in 
speaking  or  writing,  they  still  retained  their 
peculiarities  of  style  or  manner.  As  it  is 
recorded,  that  John  came  neither  eating  nor 
drinking,  and  the  Son  of  man  came  eating  and 
drinking,  yet  wisdom  is  justified  of  her  chil- 
dren. So,  also,  the  peculiarities  of  the  four 
evangelists  are  represented  to  us  under  four 
distinct  and  easy  distinguishable  traits,  namely, 
by  imagery  taken  from  the  savage  and  domes- 


42  ANOTHER   WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

tic   state — from  the   celestial   and  terrestrial 
spheres. 

"  And  the  first  beast  was  like  a  lion,  and  the 
second  beast  like  a  calf,  and  the  third  beast 
had  a  face  as  a  man,  and  the  fourth  beast  was 
like  a  flying  eagle." — Rev.  iv.  7.  The  first 
beast  or  living  creature,  therefore,  will  be  Mat- 
thew, who,  when  he  was  called  to  be  a  disciple, 
was  found  sitting  at  the  receipt  of  custom. 
This  was  the  tax-gatherer's  or  treasurer's  office. 
For  custom  is  tax;  as  we  say  the  custom-house 
at  which  duties  on  foreign  goods  are  collected. 
Matthew  is  repeatedly  denominated  in  the 
Scriptures  the  publican.  He  is,  therefore,  dis- 
tinguished as  the  servant  of  the  Roman  empire 
in  the  collection  of  taxes.  And  as  the  lion  was 
the  king  of  beasts,  so,  also,  the  Roman  empire 
was  king  of  nations,  demanding  its  tribute,  if 
necessary,  by  force.  And  as  it  is  said,  ye  take 
my  life  when  ye  take  the  means  by  wliich  I 
live.  And  the  humblest  tax-gatherer,  in  the 
legal  discharge  of  his  duty,  was  virtually  sup- 
ported by  the  entire  power  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire. For  if  resistance  should  be  made,  suflicient 


THE   FOUR   LIVING  CREATURES.  43 

force  would  be  called  out  to  overcome  it. 
And  no  other  officer  of  the  Roman  empire  could 
bear  so  great  a  resemblance  to  the  lion,  which  is 
king  of  beasts,  as  would  the  more  humble 
tax-gatherer  or  publican. 

The  second  beast  or  living  creature,  namely, 
Mark,  is  represented  to  us  under  the  figure  of  a 
calf  It  is  apparent  that  brevity  and  omission 
are  distinguishable  traits  of  Mark's  style  of 
writing,  which  all  good  judges  would  be  ready 
to  admit.  But  some  might  not  be  willing  to  ad- 
mit a  similar  trait  in  the  natural  characteristic 
of  the  calf.  Admitting  that  other  animals  in 
the  natural  world  skip  as  well  as  the  calf,  yet, 
perhaps,  none  do  so  in  a  more  remarkable  de- 
gree ;  or  are  as  directly  so  described  by  the 
pen  of  inspiration.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  suf- 
ficient for  me  to  know  that  that  characteristic 
is  applied  to  the  calf  either  by  the  acknowl- 
edged opinion  of  men,  or  by  the  positive  decla- 
ration of  Scripture.  The  substitution  of  the 
natural  equivalent  of  skipping  as  a  prominent 
characteristic  of  the  calf,  for  the  hasty  glancing 
style  of  Mark's  composition,  is  not  the  only 


44  ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

evidence  of  his  being  the  second  beast  or  liv- 
ing creature.  For  it  is  supported  by  the  col- 
lateral evidence  derived  irom  the  use  of  the 
words  "come  and  see"  as  an  index  to  a  subject 
before  hidden,  but  then  made  known,  as  will 
be  further  seen  on  the  opening  of  the  second 
seal. 

The  natural  idea  attached  to  a  calf  may  be 
in  the  opinion  of  some  contemptible.  Yet  this 
is  not  necessarily  the  true  scriptural  idea. 
For  we  are  assisted  in  our  definition  of  a  calf 
by  divine  inspiration.  As  it  is  recorded  in 
Psalms  xxix.  5, 6  :  "  The  voice  of  the  Lord  break- 
eth  the  cedars  of  Lebanon ;  he  maketh  them 
also  to  skip  like  a  calf."  So  we  see  that  the 
idea  attached  to  the  calf  is  that  of  skipping. 
And  we  have  often  admired  the  skipping  of 
the  calf,  which  shows  its  agility  and  strength. 
And  as  the  calf  in  its  vigor  skips  over  the 
ground,  so,  also,  the  second  evangelist,  in  his 
haste  to  introduce  us  without  delay  to  the  im- 
portant design  and  teachings  of  Christ,  skips 
over  the  record  of  his  bii'th  and  parentage. 
This  omission  was  not  essential,  as  the  other 


THE   FOUR   LIVING   CREATURES.  i5 

evangelists  amply  illustrated  that  subject. 
And  this  may  have  been  done  for  another  rea- 
son, namely,  to  teach  us  an  important  lesson  in 
interpreting  the  Scriptures,  which  is,  that  many 
other  things  were  said  and  done  by  Christ  and 
his  disciples,  which  were  not  written.  So  in 
the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  by  the 
method  herein  developed,  this  rule  continually 
presents  itself  for  our  consideration. 

The  third  beast  or  living  creature,  which  we 
assert  to  be  Luke,  is  said  to  have  "  a  face  as  a 
man."  The  phrase,  "  a  face  as  a  man,"  is  pecul- 
iarly adapted  to  express  his  exalted  condition. 
That  the  natural  position  of  the  face  of  man 
denotes  his  elevated  character,  is  evident  from 
the  humility  and  dejection  wiiich  is  expressed 
by  its  prostration.  As  may  be  seen  hy  its  use 
in  the  Sacred  Scriptures ;  for  we  find  tlxat  others, 
and  Christ  himself,  in  times  of  deepest  humil- 
ity and  distress,  prostrated  their  faces  to  the 
ground.  To  have  a  face  as  a  man  appears  to 
us  in  a  two-fold  light:  First,  as  superior  to 
other  living  creatures,  inasmuch  as  man  is  su- 
perior to  all  animate  creation.  Secondly,  having 


46  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

"a  face  as  a  man"  as  a  personal  trait  does 
not  make  him  distinguishable  from  other  men. 
Such  apparently  o]3posite  personal  character- 
istics can  not  be  reconciled  in  any  other  evan- 
gelist than  Luke.  For  he  was  superior  to  the 
other  evangelists  in  the  extent  of  his  acquired 
abilities.  He  is  styled  the  beloved  physician, 
and  was,  doubtless,  versed  in  medical  science. 
And  we  need  no  further  proof  of  his  literary 
attainments  than  the  original  copy  of  the  book 
of  Luke.  It  is  known  to  all  Greek  scholars 
that  the  writer  of  the  book  of  Luke  is  the  orly 
evangelist  who  does  not  exhibit  multiplied 
proofs  of  their  Hebrew  origin,  as  plainly  as 
common  people  of  foreign  birth  exhibit  their 
various  nationalities;  as  a  Scotch,  German,  or 
L:ishman  may  be  known  by  their  respective 
peculiarities  of  words,  phrases,  or  pronuncia- 
tion. So,  also,  Luke,  in  being  a  better  Greek 
scholar  than  the  other  evangelists,  excelled 
them  even  as  "  a  face  as  a  man  "  is  superior  to 
the  rest  of  animated  nature.  And,  at  the  same 
time,  his  nationality,  or  the  era  of  his  writings, 
is  not  discernible  by  his  style,  national  words, 


THE   FOUR   LIVING  CREATURES'.  47 

or  phrases.  The  other  evangelists,  in  writing 
the  words  of  inspiration,  were  not  overruled  in 
expressing  those  ideas  in  their  own  Hebrew 
dialect  of  the  Greek  language.  And  these  cir- 
cumstances afford  incontestable  proof  to  Greek 
scholars  of  all  ages  and  countries,  that  Mat- 
thew, Mark  and  John  were  Hebrews,  writing 
near  the  time  of  Augustus  Caesar  in  the  Greek 
language.  Tliis,  at  least,  establishes  their  iden- 
tity and  nationality,  and  gives  mankind  a  bet- 
ter opportunity  to  judge  of  their  truthfulness 
or  veracity.  And  Luke's  differing  from  the 
other  evangelists  is  rather  corroborative  of 
their  testimony  than  otherwise,  as  it  forms  a 
contrast  which  call  only  be  accounted  for  from 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  Gentile,  and  one  of  the 
early  fruits  of  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel 
to  the  Gentile  world.  So,  in  elucidating  the 
glowing  figures  presented  by  the  Revelator, 
we  are  obliged  to  present  to  our  minds  and  the 
minds  of  others,  who  hear  or  read  our  elucida- 
tion, some  of  the  most  important  evidences  of 
the  genuineness  of  the  gospels,  and  with  them 
of  the  writings  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Test- 


48       ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

aments  ;  for  they  are  all  connected,  and  if  the 
gospels  are  true  or  false,  the  other  writings  of 
the  Scriptures  stand  or  fall  with  them.  This, 
alone,  is  sufficient  vindication  of  the  wisdom 
and  design  of  such  a  figurative  representation. 
Truly,  it  is  said,  Christ  is  the  power  of  God  and 
the  wisdom  of  God.  For  such  figures  are  like 
the  finger  of  God,  pointing  out  to  us  the  most 
incontestible  evidence  of  the  truthfulness  of  the 
gospels,  and  of  the  whole  divine  record. 

"And  the  fourth  beast  was  like  a  flying 
eagle."  It  should  be  noticed  that  the  eagle  is 
not  here  represented  to  us  in  its  capacity  of  a 
bird  of  prey.  Therefore,  it  would  be  improper 
to  identify  it  with  Matthew  the  publican,  or 
any  other  servant  of  the  Koman  empire, 
whether  civil,  political,  or  military,  but  as  the 
king  of  birds,  flying  loftily  in  the  sky,  and  ap- 
parently approaching  nearer  the  sun,  the  ruler 
of  day,  than  any  other  of  the  feathered  tribe, 
it  may  well  represent  the  evangelist  John. 
For  who,  during  the  ministry  of  our  Savior  ap- 
proached nearer  his  person  than  the  beloved 
disciple,  who,  according  to  the  ancient  mode 


THE   FOUR   LIVING   CREATURES.  49 

of  taking  their  meals,  almost  reclined  upon  his 
bosom.  And  the  resemblance  between  the 
natural  sun  and  the  sun  of  righteousness  will 
not,  I  suppose,  be  disputed.  For  Christ  is  called 
the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that 
Cometh  into  the  world.  Moreover,  the  idea  at- 
tached in  the  Scriptures  to  the  flying  of  an 
eagle  is  its  ability  to  escape  danger.  As  may 
be  seen  by  consulting  its  use  in  Rev.  xii.  14: 
"And  to  the  woman  were  given  two  wings  of  a 
great  eagle,  that  she  might  fly  into  the  wilder- 
ness," which  was  to  her  a  place  of  safety.  And 
this  ability  to  escape  danger  was  granted  to 
the  evangelist  John,  which  is  not  recorded  of 
any  other.  For  it  is  recorded  in  John  xxi.  23 : 
"  Yet  Jesus  said  not  unto  him,  he  shall  not  die ; 
but,  if  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is 
that  to  thee  ? "  Which  is  generally  understood 
to  signify  that  he  should  escape  the  power  of 
all  persecutions,  and  die  a  natural  death. 

It  is,  therefore,  maintained  that  these  four 
beasts  or  living  creatures,  who  hold  so  con- 
spicuous a  station  around  the  throne  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  or  gospel  dispensation,  in 


50       ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

their  primary  interpretation,  denote  the  four 
evangelists  personally,  and  in  their  secondary, 
their  writings  or  the  gospels  of  our  Savior 
Jesus  Christ.  They  are  understood  to  be  the 
same  as  the  four  angels  standing  on  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth,  mentioned  in  •  Rev.  vii. 
But  the  explanation  of  that  scriptural  passage 
comes  not  within  the  scope  of  this  presnt  treat- 
ise. They  are  also  understood  to  be  the  same 
as  the  four  angels  bound  in  the  great  river 
Euphrates  mentioned  in  Rev.  ix.  14.  The  elu- 
cidation of  which  is  connected  with  the  out- 
pouring of  the  sixth  vial,  in  the  consideration 
of  which  some  remarks  may  be  made  thereon. 


THE  SEVEN  SEALS.  01 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS, 


It  is  recorded  in  Rev.  v.  i:  "And  I  saw  in 
the  right  hand  of  him  that  sat  on  the  throne  a 
book,  written  within  and  on  the  back  side, 
sealed  with  seven  seals." 

There  is  a  peculiarity  attending  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  prophecy  in  the  book  of  Revelation 
that  should  be  noticed,  which  is,  that  the  rep- 
resentation is  such  as  an  intelligent  human 
being  might  arrive  at  on  contemplating  the 
subject  retrospectively  without  the  aid  of  di- 
vine inspiration.  This  may  be  termed  the 
human  aspect  of  affairs  described,  or  judging 
from  appearances.  Other  parts  of  Scrip- 
ture more  frequently  present  to  us  the  divine 
aspect  of  the  subject  expressed,  or  the  real 
state  of  the  case  as  viewed  by  angels  or  the 


62  ANOTHER  WONDER   IN  HEAVEN. 

diyine  intelligence  by  the  light  of  eternity. 
This  diiference  does  not  arise  from  the  dilferent 
methods  used  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures,  but  from  the  different  manners  in 
which  they  were  written.  Both  aspects  or 
views  of  inspiration  are  useful  in  their  differ- 
ent places.  And  one  reason  that  the  divine 
aspect  of  affairs  is  more  frequently  given  in 
other  parts  of  the  Scriptures  may  be  that  the 
human  aspect  is  more  easily  supplied  from 
human  sources  of  knowledge,  and  is  not  so 
important  in  retrospective  history.  For  men 
can  easily  write  the  history  of  the  past  as  they 
understand  it.  So,  also,  in  prophesying  of  the 
future,  it  seems  more  necessary  to  describe 
affairs  according  to  appearances,  so  that  when 
the  fulfillment  takes  place,  men  may  the  more 
easily  discern  it. 

The  better  to  illustrate  the  subject,  I  will 
briefly  announce  what  book  it  was  that  was 
sealed  with  seven  seals,  and  show  the  result  of 
the  seven  seals  opened,  together  with  the  man- 
ner of  their  opening.  The  fifth  chapter  of  the 
book  of  this  prophecy  represents  that  the  Old 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  53 

Testament,  at  least  in  seven  particulars,  would 
be  a  perfect  failure  without  the  aid  of  the  New. 
That  neither  men  nor  angels  could  fully  com- 
prehend its  design  or  utility  without  the  addi- 
tional light,  either  by  direct  or  reflected  illu- 
mination of  the  New  Testament  dispensation. 
But  with  that  additional  source  of  comprehen- 
sion, it  was  an  object  of  rejoicing  to  all  wise 
and  good  intelligences.  Six  seals  are  opened 
in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  book  of  this  proph- 
ecy, as  follows:  The  first  is,  that  Christ, 
under  the  most  trying  and  critical  circum- 
stances, should  give  indubitable  evidence  of 
the  purity  of  his  character,  and  his  resistance 
of  all  unholy  passions,  and  should  manifest 
even  while  here  in  the  flesh  his  infinite  wis- 
dom and  power,  and  finally  overcome  death 
and  the  grave.  The  second  seal  opened,  dis- 
closes that  the  Jewish  temple  should  be  de- 
stroyed, and  its  institutions  abolished.  The 
third  seal  opened,  made  it  manifest  that  the 
Roman  army  was  commissioned  by  the  court 
of  heaven  to  destroy  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
under  very  extraordinary  circumstances  of  war 


54  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN  HEAVEN. 

and  famine ;  but  were  withheld  by  the  some  di- 
vine power  from  exercising  that  same  cruelty 
upon  the  early  Christians,  who  were  forwarned 
of  that  calamity,  and  directed  how  to  escape  its 
evils.  The  fourth  seal  opened,  disclosed  the 
exciting  cause  of  the  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tian martyrs,  which  is  briefly  summed  up  in 
their  confession  that  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God. 
For  which  confession,  also,  Christ  himself,  under 
oath  before  the  Jewish  high  priest,  was  con- 
demned to  the  death  of  the  cross.  The  open- 
ing of  the  fifth  seal  disclosed  the  fact  that  the 
martyrs,  although  so  brutally  treated  by  men 
in  authority,  were  held  in  high  favor  by  the  God 
of  heaven,  who  only  delayed  to  execute  sum- 
mary vengeance  on  their  murderers,  that  the 
remnant  of  his  people  might  be  gathered  into 
his  kingdom.  The  opening  of  the  sixth  seal, 
made  it  manifest  that  a  warlike  power  was 
raised,  which  threatened  the  mighty  ones  of 
earth  with  temporal  devastation,  desolation, 
and  the  overthrow  of  civil  authority  ;  but  which 
was  not  permitted  to  carry  into  execution  its 
plotted  evils,  until  the  servants  of  God  had 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  55 

given  incontestable  proof  of  the  purity  and 
inoffensiveness  of  the  Christian  religion.  The 
opening  of  the  seventh  seal  discloses  the 
threatening,  and  the  manner  of  executing 
seven  dire  calamities  upon  the  human  race. 
It  embraces  the  seven  trumpets  and  the  last 
seven  plagues,  and  the  destructive  and  bene- 
ficial results  thereof,  namely,  the  downfall  of] 
Babylon  or  the  apostate  church,  and  the  renewal 
of  the  New  Jerusalem,  or  the  Church  of  Christ 
in  its  pristine  purity  and  holiness. 

But  the  way  in  which  our  attention  is  drawn 
to  those  declarations  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  furnish  us  with  those  conclusions  of  the 
results  of  the  opening  of  the  first  four  seals, 
is  seen  in  the  following  manner :  It  is  supposed 
to  be  proved  that  the  four  beasts  mentioned  in 
chapters  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  of  this  proph- 
ecy are  the  same  as  the  four  angels  mentioned 
in  the  sixth  trumpet  and  vial.  And  I  shall 
endeavor  to  show,  by  quotations  from  those 
authors,  that  they  exhibit  the  representations 
manifested  when  those  living  creatures  say, 
"  come  and  see ; "  or,  in  other  words,  that  thp 


56  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

passages  in  connection  with  the  words  "  come 
and  see,"  found  in  the  four  evangelists,  and 
what  John,  in  the  Revelation  said  he  saw,  is 
the  sum  and  substance  of  those  passages  found 
in  the  evangelists  in  connection  with  the 
words  "  come  and  see."  This  is  a  remarkable 
fact,  whether  designed  by  inspiration,  as  is  here 
alleged,  or  accidental,  as  those  who  will  finally 
discredit  this  theory  will  suppose.  And  this 
is  the  more  remarkable  as  the  testimony  is 
sometimes  two-fold,  inasmuch  as  the  same  rep- 
resentation can  be  proved  by  taking  the  tes- 
timony from  different  evangelists.  For  it  is 
not  contradictory  to  the  assertion  that  one  of 
the  four  beasts  said,  "  come  and  see,"  if  another 
also  should,  under  similar  circumstances,  give 
the  same  invitation. 

It  is  recorded  in  Rev.  vi.  1,2:  "  And  I  saw 
when  the  Lamb  opened  one  of  the  seals,  and 
I  heard,  as  it  were  the  noise  of  thunder,  one 
of  the  four  beasts,  saying,  "come  and  see." 
And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  white  horse :  and  he 
that  sat  on  him  had  a  bow;  and  a  crown  was 
given  unto  him :  and  he  went  forth  conquering, 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  57 

and  to  conquer."     It  should  be  noticed  that  it 
is  not  said  the  first  beast,  but  that  one  of  the 
beasts  said,  "  come  and  see."   So  you  are  at  lib- 
erty to  take  the  testimony  from  Matthew  or 
John,  as   these   are   the   only  two  evangelists 
which  have  the  passages  in  connection  with 
the  words  "  come  and  see,"  which  will  fill  the 
representation  recorded  in  the  second  verse 
of  the  same  chapter.     "And  I  saw  and  behold 
a  white  horse :  and  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a 
bow ;  and  a  crown  was  given  unto  him,  and 
he  went   forth  conquering,  and  to   conquer." 
It   can   be   seen  that   the  passages,  whether 
taken  from  Matthew  or  John,  refer  to  Christ, 
and  delineate  his  earthly  difficulties,  and  his 
complete  success  in  overcoming  them.     The 
testimony  from  Matthew  is  not  so  copious  as 
that  from  John ;  but  I  will  give  that  testimony 
first.     It  is  recorded  in  Matt.  ii.  9:  "Lo,  the 
star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east  went  before 
them  till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the 
young  child  was."     The  star  in  silent  language 
seemed  to    say,   "come   and   see,"   and    they 
obeyed.     "And  when  they  were  come  into  the 


58  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

house,  they  saw  the  young  child  with  Mary  his 
mother,  and  fell  down,  and  worshiped  him." 
Here  was  the  great  victory,  the  babe  born  in 
a  manger  receiving  the  adoration  and  princely 
gifts  of  the  wise  men  of  the  east,  guided  by 
the  miraculous  direction  of  the  star  of  Bethle- 
hem. And  the  only  testimony  besides  this 
just  presented,  which  I  have  found  in  the  book 
of  Matthew,  is  recorded  in  Matt,  xxviii.  6: 
"Come  see  the  place  Vviiere  the  Lord  lay." 
When  you  take  into  consideration  the  circum- 
stances of  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  how  he  was  crucified  with  malefac- 
tors, and  obtained  a  burial  in  a  rich  man's 
tomb,  and  that  even  the  tomb  was  not  able  to 
contain  his  body,  but  it  broke  forth  from  the 
slumbers  of  the  grave,  as  the  Lord  of  death 
and  the  grave,  the  victory  seems  complete — 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  he  was  victorious, 
going  forth  conquering,  and  to  conquer. 

But  as  this  testimony  is  not  very  ample,  and 
many  may  be  disposed  to  doubt  the  coinci- 
dence between  the  passages  in  connection 
with  the  words  "come  and  see,"  because,  in  the 


TIIE    SEVEN    SEALS.  59 

first  instance,  it  was  not  audible  words  to  that 
effect,  but  only  the  silent  guidance  of  the  star, 
although  came  and  saw  are  only  the  past*  tense 
of  come  and  see,  I  will,  therefore,  adduce  more 
ample  testimony  from  the  book  of  John.  Ac- 
cording to  the  scriptural  declaration,  the  last 
shall  be  first  and  the  first  last.  And  accord- 
ingly the  first  "  come  and  see,"  to  which  I  shall 
call  your  attention,  is  recorded  in  John  i.  46  : 
"  And  Nathaniel  said  unto  him,  can  there  any 
good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?  Philip  saith 
unto  him,  come  and  see."  Take  under  consid- 
eration that  Jesus  Christ  entered  his  ministry 
under  unfavorable  circumstances,  being  con- 
sidered a  Nazarene,  which  was  allied  in  their 
minds  with  whatever  was  mean  and  contemp- 
tible. To  conquer  implies  difficulties  to  be 
overcome.  And  here  was  a  great  prejudice 
of  the  Jews  to  overcome,  on  account  of  the 
place  of  his  residence  and  supposed  nativity. 
The  first  "  come  and  see  "  shows  a  difficulty  to 
be  overcome,  and  a  partial  conquest  of  that 
difficulty.  The  second  "  come  and  see  "  shows 
a  more  complete  victory,  as  can  be  seen  by 


60  ANOTHER    WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

the   second   quotation   from   the   same   book, 
which  is  found  recorded  in  John  iv.  29  :  "Come, 


see  a  man,  which  told  me  all  things  that  ever 
I  did :  is  not  this  the  Christ  ? "  Here  is  a  con- 
fession of  a  woman  who  had  not  been  a  disci- 
ple of  Christ,  and  on  that  account  could  not  be 
suspected  of  deceit,  acknowledging  the  great 
wisdom  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  In  this  he 
surely  conquered,  proving  by  a  disinterested 
witness  that  he  possessed  ample  knowledge  to 
fill  that  sphere  which  he  occupied.  The  next 
"  come  and  see  "  affords  no  evidence  of  his  su- 
perior wisdom,  but,  on  the  contrary,  would  seem 
to  imply  frailty  in  knowledge  as  he  acted  by  the 
direction  of  others,  and  seemed  so  overcome 
as  to  sympathize  and  weep  with  his  afflicted 
friends.  Yet  the  sequel  showed  his  great  power, 
when,  at  his  bidding,  he  who  had  been  dead 
burst  forth  from  the  fetters  of  the  grave.  This 
testimony  is  found  recorded  in  John  xi.  34 : 
"And  said,  where  have  ye  laid  him?  They  said 
unto  him.  Lord,  come  and  see."  We  have  in 
this  passage  connected  with  the  words  "  come 
and  see,"   a  history   of    the    resurrection   of 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  61 

Lazarus.  Christ  raising  him  from  the  dead 
shows  forth  his  power,  and  thus  proves  his 
qualifications  for  the  ministry  which  he  entered 
into  under  such  unfavorable  circumstances,  as 
is  manifested  by  the  exclamation,  "  can  any 
good  come  out  of  Nazareth  ? " 

But  if  in  this  life  he  had  conquered  all  his 
other  difficulties,  and  had  suffered  death  by  the 
hands  of  his  enemies,  like  many  others  had 
done,  he  might  be  considered  a  martyr  to  truth 
or  righteousness,  but  not  a  conquerer.  And 
exultation  of  his  enemies  might  have  aj^peared 
true,  he  saved  others,  but  himself  he  could  not 
save.  If  he  had  died  a  natural  death  he  might 
have  conquered  all  his  personal  enemies.  If 
he  had  not  died  at  all  he  might  have  conquered 
all  his  enemies  but  the  grave.  For  to  conquer 
implies  a  contest,  and  if  he  had  had  no  contest 
with  the  grave,  he  could  not  have  conquered 
it.  And  the  final  testimony  of  this  his  last  con- 
quest is  found  recorded  in  John  xx.  27,  29.  To 
this  we  are  also  directed  by  the  words  "  come 
and  see,"  or  their  equivalents :  "Reach  hither 
thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands ;  and  reach 


62  ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side ;  and 
be  not  faithless,  but  believing.  And  Thomas 
answered  and  said  unto  him,  my  Lord  and  my 
God.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thomas,  because 
thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  believed."  Our 
Savior  calls  the  acts  seeing,  and  it  was,  doubt- 
less, the  strongest  evidence  given  to  any  of  the 
disciples  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  from  the 
grave. 

There  are  other  "  come  and  sees  "  found  in 
the  book  of  John,  which  all  show  forth  a  con- 
quest of  difficulty.  They  are  sometimes  taken 
singly,  and  sometimes  by  pairs.  Sometim'es 
the  see  is  only  used,  but  the  come  is  implied. 
But  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  multiply  evi- 
dence so  much  as  to  say  all  that  might  be  said 
on  the  subject.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  all  this 
testimony  connected  witL  the  different  "come 
and  sees,"  recorded  in  the  book  of  John,  con- 
stitutes that  portion  of  the  history  of  our 
Savior,  which  was  a  mystery  to  the  Jews  of 
the  Old  Testament  dispensation.  And  our 
Savior,  who  was  the  Lamb  of  God,  broke  this 
seal  or  revealed  this  mystery  when  he  per- 


THE    SEVEN   SEAI,S.  63 

formed  the  acts  described,  and  caused  their 
record  to  be  made  for  succeeding  generations. 
By  the  white  horse  we  are  to  understand  the 
purity  of  character  which  Christ  possessed. 
His  having  a  bow  denotes  that  he  has  power 
to  execute  vengeance  on  his  enemies.  And 
his  going  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer  de- 
notes that  he  was  placed  under  exceedingly 
great  difficulties,  all  of  which  we  have  seen  he 
overcame. 

But  does  any  one  suppose  that  all  this  re- 
semblance is  accidental,  and  that  the  person 
on  the  white  horse  does  not  necessarilj^  repre- 
sent Christ?  If  so,  it  would  be  well  to  consult 
the  testimony  of  inspiration.  It  is  recorded  in 
Rev.  xix.  11, 13:  "And  I  saw  heaven  opened, 
and  behold  a  white  horse ;  and  he  that  sat  upon 
him  was  called  faithful  and  true,  and  in  right- 
eousness he  doth  judge  and  make  war.  And 
he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood: 
and  his  name  is  called  the  word  of  God."  Ac- 
cording as  it  is  written  in  John  i.  14:  "And 
the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us, 
and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the    glory  as  of 


64  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace 
and  truth."  The  conclusion  seems  to  be  irre- 
sistible, and  it  is  generally  admitted  to  be 
Jesus  Christ.  It  may  be  acknowledged  that 
the  person  on  the  white  horse  is  Christ,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  supposed  that  the  victory  men- 
tioned is  confined  to  the  success  of  his  cause 
from  the  foundation  of  Christianity  to  the  close 
of  time.  This  supposition  lessens  the  greatness 
of  the  conquest.  For  when  the  Lord  has  risen, 
is  seated  on  his  throne  of  glory,  and  is  invested 
with  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  the 
equality  of  the  contest  is  greatly  diminished, 
as  is  illustrated  ])j  worldly  history,  when  it  is 
said  Caesar  conquered  Pompey.  The  victory 
is  greater  than  if  he  had  fought  with  a  less 
distinguished  general  and  a  feebler  foe.  And 
besides  the  latter  conquest  is  the  personal  af- 
fair of  the  followers  of  Christ  while  upon  earth, 
who  are  seated  on  white  horses,  and  follow 
their  leader,  who  has  gone  before  them  in  his 
earthly  career. 

"And  when  he  had  opened  the  second  seal, 
I  heard  the  second  beast  say,  <  come  and  see.' 


THE   SEVEN   SEALS.  65 

And  there  went  out  another  horse  that  was 
red;  and  power  was  given  to  him  that  sat 
thereon  to  take  peace  from  the  earth,  and  that 
they  should  kill  one  another :  and  there  was 
given  unto  him  a  great  sword." — Rev.  vi.  3,  4. 
It  is  recorded  in  Matt.  xxiv.  2 :  "  And  Jesus  said 
unto  them,  See  ye  not  all  these  things  ?  verily 
I  say  unto  you,  There  shall  not  be  left  here 
one  stone  upon  another,  that  shall  not  be  * 
thrown  down."  This  prediction  of  our  Savior 
refers  to  the  destruction  of  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  which  was  announced  to  the  disci- 
ples while  present  in  the  temple.  It  was  ac- 
companied by  the  invitation,  '^See  ye  not  all 
these  things."  Although  they  were  all  present 
in  the  temple,  yet  their  minds  were  especially 
directed  by  the  interrogation  to  see  or  contem- 
plate the  buildings  of  the  temj)le,  and  is,  there- 
fore, equivalent  to  the  expression,  "  come  and 
see."  For  if  their  minds  were  directed  to  some 
other  object  or  subject,  they  might  not  notice 
the  greatness  or  beauty  of  the  buildings.  All 
the  other  evangelists,  who  record  this  prediction 


66  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

of  our  Savior,  introduce  it  in  some  manner  by 
the  exhortation  to  see  or  behold  these  things. 

That  the  Jewish  temple  and  its  institutions 
should  be  superseded  by  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation was  a  mystery  to  the  Jews;  and  was 
only  disclosed  by  Christ  to  his  disciples,  who 
were  enabled  to  comprehend  its  necessity  and 
predetermined  design.  And  this  was  accom- 
plished by  war,  as  is  denoted  by  the  red  horse 
which  John  said  he  saw.  As  the  taking  away 
peace  from  the  earth,  and  having  a  great  sword, 
also  plainly  apply. 

"And  when  he  opened  the  third  seal,  I  heard 
the  third  beast  say, '  come  and  see.'  And  I 
beheld,  and,  lo,  a  black  horse ;  and  he  that  sat 
on  him  had  a  pair  of  balances  in  his  hand. 
And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four 
beasts  say,  A  measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny, 
and  three  measures  of  barley  for  a  penny ;  and 
see  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and  the  wine." — Kev. 
vi.  5,  6. 

The  next  evangelist  to  whom  I  shall  call 
your  attention,  is  Mark.  It  is  recorded  in 
Mark  xiii.  21 :  "  And  if  any  man  shall  say  to 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  67 

you,  lo,  here  is  Christ ;  or,  lo,  he  is  there,  be- 
lieve him  not."  This  quotation  is  part  of  a  dis- 
course of  Christ  to  his  disciples  while  seated 
upon  the  Mount  of  Olives,  which  refers  to  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  includes  ample 
directions  to  the  disciples  how  to  escape  the 
severity  of  the  calamities  which  was  about  to 
befall  the  Jewish  nation.  It  is  asserted  that 
this  passage  is  referred  to,  when  the  third  seal 
is  opened,  and  John  heard  the  third  beast  say, 
"  Come  and  see."  For  the  word  translated  lo ; 
as  '  lo  here  ; '  lo  there  is  the  same  word  which  is 
elsewhere  translated  see.  And  the  phrase 
means  see  here,  see  there,  and  is  equivalent  to 
"come  and  see." 

It  is  also  asserted  that  the  representation 
expressed  by  what  John  said  he  saw,  is  the  same 
as  the  substance  of  the  discourse  of  Christ  to 
his  disciples,  which  may  be  seen  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  The  black  horse  denotes  famine, 
according  to  the  usage  of  Scripture,  as  shown 
by  Lam.  v.  10 :  "  Our  skin  was  black  like  an 
oven,  because  of  the  terrible  famine."  The 
balances,  or  scales,  in  the  hand  of  the  rider  on 


68  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

the  black  horse  denotes  the  retribution  which 
awaited  the  guilty  victims,  or  the  vengeance 
about  to  be  inflicted  upon  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem,  for  the  rejection  and  crucifixion 
of  our  Savior.  The  scarcity  of  food  and  grain 
is  indicated  by  the  phrase  "  a  measure  of  wheat 
for  a  penny,  and  three  measures  of  barley  for 
a  penny."  For  the  original  word  here  trans- 
lated measure  denotes  such  a  capacity  as  to 
contain  the  grain  for  the  bread  of  one  man  one 
day ;  or,  in  modern  military  phraseology,  one 
ration  of  wheat.  For  such  a  quantity  to  be 
sold  for  a  denarius,  the  ancient  Roman  coin 
here  translated  penny,  which  was  the  wages 
of  a  man  for  a  day,  must  denote  great  scarcity 
and  high  price.  For,  when  a  man  can  only  earn 
in  a  day  the  bread  required  for  himself  for  that 
day,  it  is  evident  he  would  have  no  surplus  to 
buy  food  for  a  family,  or  to  buy  the  other  nec- 
essaries of  life.  And  the  starvation  of  all  de- 
pendent on  others  for  support,  must  be  the  nat- 
ural consequence.  And  three  measures  of  bar- 
ley for  a  penny  denotes  that  that  grain  was 
equally  dear,  considering  the  uses  to  which  it 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  69 

was  generally  applied  in  ancient  times,  being 
appropriated  to  the  sustenance  of  domestic 
animals;  as  wheat  was  to  that  of  the  human 
family.  "And  see  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and 
the  wine."  In  the  parable  of  the  ten  virgins, 
the  wise  had  oil  in  their  vessels  with  their 
lamps.  These  evidently  denote  true  Christians, 
as  wine  is  used  in  the  communion  or  Lord's 
supper,  of  which,  those  who  properly  partake, 
aYe  true  Christians. 

The  amount  of  the  subject  is  this,  that  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  determined  on, 
as  a  punishment  to  the  disobedient  Jews  for  their 
rejection  and  crucifixion  of  Christ;  from  which 
the  Christians  were  to  be  exempt,  as  Christ 
had  directed  them  that  as  a  reward  for  their 
fidelity,  and,  also,  that  they  might  be  instru- 
mental in  difl'using  Christianity  throughout  the 
world.  And  the  unbelieving  Jews  were  to  be 
deluded  to  their  own  destruction,  by  trusting 
in  false  Christs,  who  were  expected  to  deliver 
them  from  the  power  of  the  Romans.  But 
our  Savior  plainly  foretold  his  disciples  these 
events,  and    gave    them  such    directions  as 


70  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

enabled  them  personally  to  escape  the  calami- 
ties which  befell  their  unbelieving  countrymen. 
And  this  is  the  warning  which  is  expressed  by 
"lo,  here  is  Christ;  lo,  he  is  there,  believe  them 
not."  For,  if  they  trusted  in  these  false  Christs, 
they  would  not  obey  the  directions  upon  which 
their  personal  safety  depended,  and  God  would 
not  interfere  and  furnish  them  other  means  to 
escape  from  the  threatening  calamity. 

Although  this  discourse,  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  was  an  explanation  of  a  former  one, 
predicting  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  it 
was,  nevertheless,  delivered  at  another  time 
and  place,  and  essentially  distinct  from  it. 
For  it  was  possible  for  the  temple  to  be  de- 
stroyed without  the  destruction  of  the  city. 
And,  also,  for  the  latter  to  be  mostly  destroyed 
without  the  destruction  of  the  former.  They 
are  two  distinct  things,  inasmuch  as  each  sep- 
arately was  a  mystery  or  sealed  subject  to  the 
Jews,  and  is,  therefore,  distinguished  into  two 
parts ;  namely,  the  destruction  of  the  temple 
and  its  mode  of  worship,  or  the  cessation  of  the 
Jewish  religion  as  an  object  of  divine  appoint- 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  71 

ment  or  favor,  and  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, under  the  most  appalling  scenes  of  blood- 
shed and  famine. 

Rev.  vi.  7,  8 :  "  And  when  he  had  opened  the 
fourth  seal,  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  fourth 
beast  say,  *  come  and  see.'  And  I  looked,  and 
behold  a  pale  horse:  and  his  name  that  sat 
on  him  was  death,  and  hell  followed  with  him. 
And  power  was  given  unto  them  over  the  fourth 
part  of  the  earth,  to  kill  with  sword,  and  with 
hunger,  and  with  death,  and  with  the  beasts 
of  the  earth." 

The  next  "  come  and  see  "  that  claims  our  at- 
tention, it  seems,  should  be  found  in  the  book 
of  Luke.  Because  I  have  quoted  from  John, 
Matthew,  and  Marl^  and  Luke,  alone,  remains. 
And  I  confess  that  I  can  not  find  any  "  come 
and  see  "  in  the  book  of  Luke,  corresponding 
with  the  representation  set  forth  on  the  open- 
ing of  the  fourth  seal.  But  I  turn  to  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  and  find  that  it  was  written  by 
an  author,  who  had  written  another  treatise 
of  all  that  Jesus  began  to  do  and  teach.  And 
the    Acts    of    the    Apostles     are    generally 


72  ANOTHER   WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

attributed  to  Luke.  And  I  find  in  Acts  viii.  36, 
37  :  "  See,  here  is  water ;  what  doth  hinder  me 
to  be  baptized  ?  And  Philip  said,  if  thou  be- 
lievest  with  all  thine  heart,  thou  mayest.  And 
he  answered  and  said,  I  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God."  "  See  here "  is  a 
phrase  equivalent  to  "come  and  see."  And 
see,  here  is  water,  is  connected  with  the  con- 
fession that  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  And  when 
Peter  made  the  same  confession,  Jesus  told  him 
that  on  this  rock  he  would  build  his  church. 
And  it  is  a  fact  beyond  the  power  of  success- 
ful contradiction,  that  adherence  to  this  con- 
fession was  the  cause  of  the  death  of  Christ, 
and  of  all  of  his  followers,  who  died  as  martyrs 
for  his  sake,  as  may  be  partly  seen  in  Matt, 
xxvi.  63-66:  "And  the  high  priest  answered 
and  said  unto  him,  I  adjure  thee  by  the  living 
God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ 
the  Son  of  God.  Jesus  saith  unto  him.  Thou 
hast  said :  nevertheless,  I  say  unto  you.  Here- 
after shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  man  sitting  on  the 
right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds 
of   heaven.    Then  the  high  priest  rent    his 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  73 

clothes,  saying,  He  hath  spoken  blasphemy ; 
what  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses  ?  be- 
hold, now  ye  have  heard  his  blasphemy.  What 
think  ye  ?  They  answered  and  said,  He  is  guilty 
of  death."  Christ  made  this  confession  under 
oath  before  the  Jewish  high  priest,  and  for  it 
was  judged  guilty  of  blasphemy,  and  worthy 
of  death.  So,  also,  all  of  his  disciples,  who, 
by  adhering  to  that  confession,  have  sacrificed 
their  lives,  may  be  said  to  have  perished  by 
sword,  and  by  hunger,  and  by  the  beasts  of  the 
earth. 

The  fourth  seal  opened  reveals  the  fact 
which  was  before  little  understood,  that  God 
would  permit  the  enemies  of  Christianity  to 
show  their  hatred  to  it  by  their  cruel  persecu- 
tions of  its  early  followers ;  and  that  he  would 
make  the  malice  of  its  enemies  conducive  to 
the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

The  opening  of  the  fifth  seal  is  not  accom- 
panied with  references  to  passages  in  other 
parts  of  Scripture,  but  it  shows  that  God's  pe- 
culiar care  was  exercised  toward  those  who 
had  been  martyred  for  the  testimony  which 


74  ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

they  held,  although  they  had  been  cruelly 
treated  by  men  in  authority  while  on  earth. 
That  their  persecution  was  not  permitted  from 
any  want  of  love  to  their  faithfulness,  purity, 
and  sincerity,  but  it  was  to  test  their  fidelity, 
show  the  wonderful  power  of  their  faith,  and 
perpetuate  the  purity  of  the  church.  That 
their  reward  was  prepared  and  made  sure  unto 
them  when  their  number  should  be  completed. 
Rev.  vi.  12:  "And  I  beheld  when  he  had 
opened  the  sixth  seal,  and,  lo,  there  was  a  great 
earthquake;  and  the  sun  became  black  as 
sackcloth  of  hair,  and  the  moon  became  as 
blood."  The  word  earthquake  may,  with  equal 
propriety,  be  translated  commotion.  The  ele- 
ments of  a  physical  revolution  were  organized 
which  threatened  the  devastation  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  established  physical  organization 
then  existing.  Clans  and  hoards  of  barbarians 
were  organizing,  gaining  power,  and  making 
irruptions  on  civilized  nations,  threatening  the 
devastation  and  destruction  of  the  civilized 
governments,  and  the  supplanting  them  by  the 
hardships   and  privations  of   barbarian    life 


THE   SEVEN   SEALS.  75 

"And  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  of 
hair."  This  is  inter23reted  as  follows :  The  first 
equivalent  for  sun  in  the  natural  world  is 
Christ  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  who  is  so 
called  spiritually  or  figuratively.  Christ  is 
called,  in  like  manner,  the  "  Word  of  God,"  and 
this  last  expression  is  susceptible  of  two  in- 
terpretations, the  latter  of  which  signifies  the 
Scriptures  of  truth,  in  Avhich  sense  the  connec- 
tion requires  it  to  be  taken  here.  The  Scrip- 
tures were,  therefore,  greatly  depressed  or 
overpowered  by  the  disturbed  state  attending 
the  barbarian  invasion.  For  it  was  as  sack- 
cloth of  hair,  which  denotes  mourning;  as 
sackcloth  was  used  on  such  occasions.  "  And 
the  moon  became  as  blood,"  which  is  under- 
stood as  follows :  The  moon  denotes  the  cere- 
monial law  of  Moses — an  institution  inferior 
to  the  gospel.  According  as  it  it  written: 
"  The  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and 
truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ.  The  law  of  Moses 
is  compared  wdth  grace  and  truth,  and  is  con- 
sidered inferior  to  it.  Grace  and  truth  have 
been  proved  to  be  equal  to  the  gospel,  and 


76  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

Christ  and  the  gospel  are  used  as  equivalents, 
and  Christ  is  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  there- 
fore, the  Sun  of  righteousness  is  compared  with 
the  law  of  Moses,  and  is  acknowledged  to  be 
superior  to  it.  And  in  the  natural  world,  the 
light  next  inferior  to  the  sun  is  the  moon. 
Christ  was  the  dispenser  of  the  gospel  as  Moses 
was  the  law  of  Jewish  ceremonies,  and  they 
stand  in  the  same  relation  to  each  other  as  the 
sun  does  to  the  moon,  which,  therefore,  de- 
notes the  ceremonial  law  of  Moses,  an  institu- 
tion enlightening  mankind  by  its  borrowed 
light.  By  becoming  blood  is  to  be  understood 
the  corruptive,  dead  state,  to  w^hich  it  was  re- 
duced when  superseded  by  the  gospel. 

Rev.  vi.  13  :  "  And  the  stars  of  heaven  fell 
unto  the  earth,  even  as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her 
untimely  figs,  when  she  is  shaken  of  a  mighty 
wind." 

The  stars  of  heaven  are  the  less  lights  of  the 
firmament  as  the  teachings  of  the  apostles  are 
inferior  to  that  of  Christ,  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness. They  are  also  inferior  to  the  law  of 
Moses ;  inasmuch  as  they  were  not  dignified 


THE   SEVEN   SEALS.  77 

with  the  rank  of  a  separate  institution  of  God, 
as  was  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  These  teach- 
ings were  displaced  or  overwhelmed  by  the 
physical  or  natural  commotion  agitating  the 
world;  or,  in  other  words,  divinely  appointed 
dispensations  instituted  by  Moses.  Christ  and 
his  apostles  appeared  to  be  overwhelmed  by 
barbaric  and  Pagan  idolatry. 

Rev.  vi.  14 :  "  And  the  heaven  departed  as  a 
scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together;  and  every 
mountain  and  island  were  moved  out  of  their 
places." 

By  the  heaven  departing  as  a  scroll  we  are 
to  understand  that  the  events  transpiring  on 
the  earth  were  apparently  unfavorable  to  the 
reign  of  the  Messiah  or  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion. That  the  kingdom  of  heaven  or  gospel 
dispensation  retreated  to  the  obscure  places 
of  earth.  And  as  the  mountains  and  islands 
are  the  prominent  objects  of  earth  and  sea,  so, 
also,  the  prominent  objects  in  state  and  church 
were  moved  out  of  their  accustomed  abodes. 
For  we  have  already  shown  that  the  word  sea 
denotes  the  church,  and   what  is   earthly,  if 


78  ANOTHER    WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

that  is  not  which  is  not  spiritual  ?  Kev. 
vi.  15:  "And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
the  great  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and  the 
chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men,  and  every 
bond  man,  and  every  free  man,  hid  themselves 
in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mount- 
ains." 

All  ranks  and  conditions  of  men  were  af- 
fected by  this  revolution,  and  greatly  bewailed 
its  dire  calamities.  They  sought  refuge  from 
its  severity  in  the  huts  and  hovels  of  the  bar- 
barian; in  the  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth — 
habitations  more  fit  for  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
wilderness,  than  for  the  abodes  of  civilized 
life.  And,  although  inferior  agencies  were  used 
to  bring  about  those  great  changes  in  the  af- 
fairs of  men,  yet  the  true  cause  was  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb ;  or  the  retribution  which  awaited 
the  persecutors  of  the  Christian  church. 

Eev.  viii.  1 :  "And  when  he  had  opened  the 
seventh  seal,  there  was  silence  in  heaven  about 
the  space  of  half  an  hour." 

The  seventh  seal  differs  from  all  the  others 
in  the  number  of  the  items  of  which  it  is  com- 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  79 

posed,  and  the  great  length  of  time  over  which 
it  extends.  And  it  differs  from  the  most  of  the 
others  in  being  partly  verified  by  a  different 
witness.  For  the  first  five  consist  of  only  one 
item  each.  The  first  four  are  proved  from  the 
Scriptures,  partly  by  means  of  the  index  "  come 
and  see."  The  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  are 
partly  proved  from  the  book  of  Providence, 
but  they  all  agree  in  one  particular,  namely, 
in  being  illustrated  by  means  of  gospel  equiv- 
alents, without  which  they  are  comparatively 
unintelligible.  The  seventh  seal  consists  of 
seven  distinct  items,  five  of  which  are  already 
past  and  finished.  The  sixth  has  been  nearly 
completed,  and  the  seventh  item  is  yet  to  be 
developed  in  the  future.  Yet  all  these  items 
can  now  be  understood,  although  they  are 
partly  proved  by  different  witnesses.  For  the 
Scriptures  themselves  are  acknowledged  to  be 
sufficient  testimony  on  any  subject  to  which 
they  relate.  And  the  book  of  Providence  or 
the  history  of  the  past  transactions  of  men, 
when  taken  in  connection  with  the  testimony 
of  inspiration  is  a  reliable  witness. 


80  ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

"There  was  silence  in  heaven  about  the  space 
of  half  an  hour."  Between  the  administration 
of  forbearance,  and  the  retribution  due  to  in- 
iquity, a  short  pause  took  place,  which  is  here 
indicated  by  the  word  silence.  When  Con- 
stantino, the  Roman  emperor,  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, a  day  of  temporal  prosperity  seemed 
about  to  dawn  upon  the  church.  We  may  sup- 
pose that  great  expectations  were  excited  in 
the  minds  of  all  created  holy  intelligences, 
whether  men  or  angels,  to  see  the  result  of 
this  change  of  the  hostility  of  kings,  hereto- 
fore manifested  toward  the  church.  A  pause 
of  suspense  took  place  for  a  short  duration, 
here  designated  by  the  term  "silence  for  half 
an  hour." 

But  the  favor  of  kings  was  more  detrimental 
to  the  church,  than  their  most  determined  op- 
position. For  the  church  persecuted  was  like 
gold  tried  in  the  fire.  But  the  church  pro- 
tected by  princes,  became  amalgamated  with 
heathenish  superstition.  The  w^orld  now  be- 
came guilty  of  a  two-fold  sin  against  the 
church.     It  had  been  at  first  guilty  of  the  most 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  81 

violent  persecutions,  and  to  this  was  added  a 
more  fearful  consequence,  namely,  of  corrupt- 
ing the  vital  principles  of  truth  and  holiness. 
The  silence  mentioned  in  the  text  was  the 
pause  between  the  toleration  of  its  enemies, 
who  had  inflicted  terrible  acts  of  injustice  to- 
ward the  church,  and  the  retribution  about  to 
be  inflicted  upon  the  civilized  world,  in  seven 
distinct  particulars,  and  through  many  centu- 
ries of  time. 

The  phrase  "in  heaven,"  in  this  place,  is  sus- 
ceptible of  two  different  interpretations.  One 
is  the  church  or  gospel  dispensation ;  as  it  is 
written,  "For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand."  The  other  is  the  local  habitation  of  the 
Deity,  according  as  it  is  written,  "Heaven  is 
my  throne."  But  in  which  ever  sense  it  is  here 
taken,  it  will  not  materially  alter  the  meaning 
in  this  place,  for  in  the  former  sense,  the  rep- 
resentation will  have  to  be  understood  in  the 
sense  of  announcement  or  prophecy.  In  the 
latter  signification  it  will  have  to  be  under- 
stood of  its  design  or  determination.   Prophecy 


82  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

or  determination  in  the  divine  government  are 
both  equivalent  to  fullillment  or  execution. 

"And  I  saw  the  seven  angels  which  stood 
before  God."  They  are  the  same  as  the  seven 
stars  mentioned  in  Eev.  i.  16,  20,  wherein  it  is 
said  the  seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven 
churches.  The  seven  angels  are  the  seven 
pastors  of  the  churches  of  Asia.  The  word 
angel  means  messenger.  God's  messengers 
are  most  commonly  disembodied  spirits.  But 
sometimes  the  sons  of  men  are  honored  with 
the  office  of  messenger;  according  as  it  is  writ- 
ten, "For  the  priest's  lips  should  keep  knowl- 
edge, and  they  should  seek  the  law  at  his 
mouth:  for  he  is  the  messenger  of  the  Lord  of 
of  hosts." — Mai.  ii.  7.  A  pastor  is  the  priest 
of  the  gospel  dispensation,  and  a  messenger  is 
an  angel.  Things  that  are  equal  to  the  same 
are  equal  to  each  other.  Therefore,  the  seven 
angels  are  the  pastors  of  the  seven  churches 
of  Asia. 

"Which  stood  before  God."  The  seven  stars 
are  represented  to  be  held  in  Christ's  right 
hand.     He  is  represented  as  standing  at  the 


THE    SEVEN    SEALS.  83 

golden  altar  before  the  throne.  And,  more- 
over, Christ  is  represented  in  Rev.  i.  13,  as  be- 
ing in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden  candle- 
sticks. And  in  verse  twentieth,  the  seven  can- 
dlesticks are  declared  to  be  the  seven  churches. 
A  pastor's  business  and  duties  are  with  his 
flock  or  church.  And  if  Christ  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks,  and  his  place 
was  at  the  golden  altar  before  the  throne,  and 
the  seven  stars  were  in  his  right  hand,  they, 
also,  must  be  situated  before  the  throne  of 
God. 

"And  to  them  were  given  seven  trumpets." 
The  trumpet  is  an  instrument  of  publication  or 
proclamation;  as  is  also  a  book.  They  are, 
therefore,  equivalents.  The  seven  trumpets 
are  the  seven  copies  of  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion, which  John  was  commanded  to  write  and 
send  to  the  churches  of  Asia.  According  as 
it  is  written,  "What  thou  seest  write  in  a  book 
and  send  unto  the  seven  churches  which  are 
in  Asia." — Rev.  i.  11.  They  were  to  declare 
the  contents  of  the  book,  like  as  if  they  pro- 
claimed them  with  a  trumpet.     According  as 


84  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

it  is  written  in  Isa.  Iviii.  1:  "Cry  aloud,  spare 
not,  lift  up  thy  voice  as  a  trumpet,  and  show 
my  people  their  transgression,  and  the  house 
of  Jacob  their  sins." 

Kev.  viii.  3:  "And  another  angel  came  and 
stood  at  the  altar, having  a  golden  censer;  and 
there  was  given  unto  him  much  incense,  that  he 
should  offer  it  with  the  prayers  of  all  saints 
upon  the  golden  altar  which  was  before  the 
throne."  The  golden  censer,  golden  altar,  and 
the  incense  with  the  prayers  of  all  saints  are 
the  names  of  things  and  persons  in  both  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments.  They,  therefore, 
need  not  be  solved  by  gospel  equivalents. 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.         85 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   LAST   SEVEN   PLAGUES. 

"And  I  saw  another  sign  in  heaven,  great 
and  marvelous,  seven  angels  having  the  seven 
last  plagues ;  for  in  them  is  filled  up  the  wrath 
of  God."— Rev.  xv.  1. 

'^  And  one  of  the  four  beasts  gave  unto  the 
seven  angels  seven  golden  vials  full  of  the 
wrath  of  God,  who  liveth  forever  and  ever." — 
Rev.  XV.  7. 

"And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple 
saying  to  the  seven  angels.  Go  your  ways,  and 
pour  out  the  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God  upon 
the  earth." — Rev.  xvi.  1. 

The  seven  vials  of  God's  wrath  are  said  to 
be  poured  out  upon  the  earth.  It  can  be  said 
that  the  word  "  earth  "  is  not  used  strictly  in 
the  sense  of  the  material  earth  in  a  philo- 


86  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

sopliical  sense.  For  the  fourth  vial  was  poured 
out  upon  the  sun,  which  is  no  part  of  the  earth, 
as  one  of  the  planets  of  the  solar  system. 
But  the  result  of  the  outpouring  of  the  fourth 
vial  affected  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth;  for 
they  were  scorched  with  heat.  It  is  plain  that 
the  word  earth,  in  its  first  and  general  sense, 
is  here  used  to  designate  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth,  that  is  the  earth  which  is  the  container 
is  here  used  figuratively  for  its  inhabitants ;  or, 
in  other  words,  the  fourth  vial  is  said  to  be 
poured  out  upon  the  earth,  when  it  is  poured 
out  upon  the  inhabitants.  This  figurative  use 
of  words  is  common  to  all  mankind ;  as  we 
say  a  man  is  wedded  to  his  bottle — that  is  the 
liquor  it  contains ;  the  stage  dines  here — that 
is  the  passengers. 

THE   LAST   SEVEN  PLAGUES. 

God's  final  manifestations  of  displeasure  to- 
ward the  human  race  may  be  divided  into 
seven  different  classes.  The  first  one  mani- 
fests that  God  vindicates  the  cause  of  the 
righteous  by  punishing  in  his  own  good  time 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.         87 

their  oppressors.  The  second  one  makes  it 
evident  that  spiritual  advantages,  if  neglected 
and  perverted,  shall  be  taken  from  their  pos- 
sessors, and  given  to  others  who  will  make 
better  use  of  those  privileges.  The  third  makes 
it  evident,  that  if  they  pervert  the  ordinances 
of  God's  worship,  that  he  permits  them  to  know, 
by  bitter  experience,  that  they  will  receive 
less  advantages  from  false  systems  of  theology 
than  from  true  ones.  The  fourth  one  shows 
that  if  they  practice  evil,  while  acknowledging 
the  authority  of  the  Word  of  God,  they  must 
pervert  its  interpretation  to  justify  their  con- 
duct. The  fifth  shows  that  God  often  makes 
use  of  perverted  beings  to  punish  others  of 
like  character.  The  sixth  shows  that  God  has 
great  care  over  the  free  investigation  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  will  not  always  permit  them  to 
be  bound,  but  will  cut  off  from  the  living  those 
that  circumscribe  its  free  investigation.  The 
seventh  shows  that  God  will  eventually  bring 
into  contempt  and  derision  all  kinds  of  false 
philosophy  which  comes  in  contact  with  his 
word. 


S8  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN  HEAVEN. 

Tlie  first  of  the  last  seven  plagues  was  na- 
tional in  its  character,  warlike  in  its  nature, 
and  deteriorating  in  its  results.  It  was  the  mar- 
tial triumph  of  barbarism  over  civilization. 
In  this  respect  it  differed  from  some  of  the  tri- 
umphs of  preceding  ages,  which  had  resulted 
in  planting  a  more  intelligent  and  scientific 
civilization  on  the  minds  of  a  ruder,  more  in- 
dolent and  barbarous  one,  as  the  erection  of 
the  Grecian  empire  was  the  triumph  of  su- 
perior skill  and  energy  over  indolence  and 
luxury.  For  the  Greeks  excelled  the  Persians 
in  general  intelligence  and  enterprise,  as  well 
as  military  science  and  energy  of  character. 
The  Koman  empire,  also,  was  founded  by  mili- 
tary skill,  as  well  as  by  a  superiority  of  valor 
and  hardihood.  But  the  overthrow  of  this 
empire  was  the  triumph  of  a  rude  valor  over 
a  refined  indolence.  For  the  Komans,  in  the 
decline  of  their  empire,  retained  refinements 
of  scientific  skill  without  their  original  hardi- 
hood of  character.  These  attainments  proved 
inadequate  to  the  desperate  valor  of.  the  bar- 
barians.   The  result  of  the  seven  barbarian 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.         89 

invasions  was  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire, and  formed  a  new  epoch  in  the  liistory 
of  nations.  In  an  earthly  point  of  view,  this 
is  viewed  as  a  calamity,  and  this  result  is  by  the 
writer  considered  as  the  first  of  the  last  seven 
plagues.  It  was  an  act  of  retribution  dispensed 
upon  a  guilty,  idolatrous  nation,  which  had 
shamefully  persecuted  the  servants  of  the  Most 
High,  who  now  had  in  his  providence  com- 
menced a  series  of  chastisements  to  teach  re- 
bellious men  moderation  and  equity,  and  to  do 
his  saints  no  harm. 

Is  it  not  plainly  perceptible  that  the  refine- 
ments of  luxury  chiefly  tend  to  bodily  ease 
and  comfort?  For,  who  would  willingly  relin- 
quish the  advantages  of  a  commodious  and 
comfortable  dwelling  for  the  rude  hut  of  the 
barbarian  or  savage?  Would  not  the  lodge 
of  Ihe  Indian,  made  of  poles  and  covered  with 
skins  or  bark,  admitting  wind  and  rain,  and 
only  partially  emitting  smoke  from  a  hole  in 
the  roof,  be  considered  more  desirable  than  the 
splendid  mansion  with  all  its  implements  of 
art  and  luxury?    Would  the  mahogany  sofa 


90  anothee:  wonder  in  heaven. 

and  downy  bed  be  willingly  substituted  for  the 
ground  and  puncheon  floor,  covered  with  leaves 
or  skins  of  wild  animals,  for  a  couch  by  day  or 
a  bed  by  night?  Would  the  precarious  fare 
of  the  hunter  or  fisherman  be  willingly  ex- 
changed for  the  luxurious  repast  of  modern 
cookery?  If  there  is  plainly  a  difierence  in 
these  modes  of  life,  the  advantages  belong  to 
a  state  of  civilization  and  refinement.  If  God 
in  his  providence  should  cause  the  overthrow 
of  this  civilization,  he  might  justly  be  said  to 
pour  out  his  wrath  upon  the  bodily  ease  and 
comfort  of  men.  And,  accordingly,  the  first 
vial  was  said  to  be  poured  out  upon  the  earth, 
or  the  bodies  of  men,  when  the  wars  which  it 
predicted  resulted  most  disastrously  to  the 
ease  and  comfort  of  the  individuals  who  suf- 
fered its  calamity. 

The  sixteenth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Reve- 
lation contains  an  account  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  seven  vials  of  God's  wrath.  It  is  re- 
corded in  Rev.  xvi.  1,2:  "  And  I  heard  a  great 
voice  out  of  the  temple  saying  to  the  seven 
angels.  Go  your  ways,  and  pour  out  the  vials 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.         91 

of  the  wrath  of  God  upon  the  earth.  And  the 
first  went,  and  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the 
earth;  and  there  fell  a  noisome  and  grievous 
sore  upon  the  men  which  had  the  mark  of  the 
beast,  and  upon  them  which  worshiped  his 
image." 

The  science  of  scriptural  algebra,  like  algebra 
itself,  is  applied  to  the  investigation  of  things 
unknown.  The  proper  use  of  gospel  equiva- 
lents consists  in  simply  substituting,  in  some 
instances,  equivalent  gospel  expressions  for  one 
another.  For  example  in  the  pouring  out  of 
the  vials  recorded  in  Rev.  xvi.,  I  merely  substi- 
tute some  equivalent  for  the  object  upon  which 
it  was  poured,  taking  all  other  parts  of  the  de- 
scription in  their  most  obvious  and  acknowl- 
edged meanings.  The  first  angel  poured  out 
his  vial  upon  the  earth.  The  word  earth  is  not 
to  be  taken  in  its  inanimate  form,  but  to  be 
substituted  for  the  bodies  of  men.  As  it  is 
written,  "  dust  thou  art,"  and  as  it  is  said  in  the 
burial  service,  "earth  to  earth,  and  dust  to 
dust."  The  theory  is,  that  God  wa&  about  to 
execute  signal  vengeance  upon  the  civilized 


92  ANOTHER   WONDER   IN   HEAVEN. 

world  for  their  persecution  of  the  church.  And 
so  he  had  prepared  the  northern  barbarians  to 
overthrow  the  Koman  empire,  and  obliterate 
civilization  with  its  genial  physical  develop- 
ments. For  who  will  deny  that  civilization  is 
more  conducive  to  bodily  ease  and  comfort 
than  a  state  of  barbarism  ?  So,  then,  the  first 
vial  was  poured  out  upon  the  earth,  or  the 
bodies  of  men,  when  'the  Koman  empire  was 
displaced  by  northern  barbarism. 

Nor  is  it  a  valid  objection  to  this  theory  be- 
cause it  is  recorded  in  the  second  verse  of  the 
same  chapter,  that  "  there  fell  a  noisome  and 
grievous  sore  upon  the  men  which  had  the 
mark  of  the  beast,  and  upon  them  which  wor- 
shiped his  image."  Admitting  that  the  char- 
acters described  as  having  the  marks  of  the 
beast,  and  as  being  worshipers  of  his  image, 
were  not  in  existence  when  the  Roman  empire 
was  destroyed,  the  results  of  the  first  vial 
poured  out  did  not  terminate  with  the  first  ob- 
jects of  God's  displeasure.  For  the  substitu- 
tion of  barbarism  for  civilization  was  not 
only  detrimental  to  the  bodily  ease  and  enjoy- 


THE   LAST    SEVEN   PLAGUES.  93 

ment  of  its  first  victims,  but  was  also  detrimen- 
tal to  Christian  light  and  knowledge,  and  was 
attended  with  mental  degradation,  ignorance, 
superstition,  and  many  other  concomitant 
evils.  And  the  adherents  of  the  apostate 
church,  in  after  ages,  also  felt  the  evils  attend- 
ant on  an  obliterated  civilization.  Their  ca- 
lamity was  not  of  the  same  kind  as  that  ol  the 
first  objects  of  God's  displeasure,  but  was, 
nevertheless,  the  natural  consequence  of  the 
manifestation  of  that  displeasure. 

Rev.  xvi.  3:  "And  the  second  angel  poured 
out  his  vial  upon  the  sea;  and  it  became  as  the 
blood  of  a  dead  man :  and  every  living  soul 
died  in  the  sea." 

Although  the  effect  of  the  second  vial 
poured  out  was  partly  produced  by  the  pour- 
ing out  of  the  first;  yet  God  had  not  relin- 
quished his  providential  care  of  his  intelligent 
creatures.  He  did  not,  in  this  instance,  per- 
mit its  direful  effects  to  fall  upon  the  innocent 
For  he  doth  nothing  without  a  cause.  Ac- 
cording as  it  is  written  in  Prov.  xxvi.  2 :  "  The 
curse  causeless  shall  not  come." 


94  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

In  the  solution  of  the  book  of  Kevehation 
by  the  system  I  have  adopted,  the  object  upon 
which  the  second  vial  was  poured  out  is  not  so 
plainly  obvious  as  are  the  objects  upon  which 
the  other  vials  are  poured,  but  the  connection 
with  the  other  vials  and  concurrent  circum- 
stances conspire  to  prove  it  to  be  the  professing 
church  of  Christ,  wiiich  had  apostatized  from 
the  true  faith.  It  may  not  be  considered  a  vi- 
olation of  sound  interpretation  to  consider  the 
phrase  translated  many  waters,  in  the  first 
verse  of  chapter  seventeen,  equivalent  to  the 
w^ord  sea  in  this.  For  the  phrase  might,  with 
propriety,  be  translated  "much  water,"  which 
is  the  natural  equivalent  for  the  sea.  If  this 
should  be  admitted  to  be  so,  we  have  given  us, 
by  divine  inspiration,  the  interpretation  of 
many  waters  to  be  peoj)les,  and  multitudes, 
and  nations,  and  tongues  of  which  the  visible 
church,  whether  of  Christ  or  antichrist,  was 
composed.  For  the  church  is  composed  of  in- 
dividual members  of  different  nations  and  lan- 
guages. Nor  are  the  points  of  resemblance 
few  or  unimportant.    The  sea,  like  the  church, 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.         95 

receives  the  refuse  and  impurities  of  earth, 
and  purifies  them.  They  both  have  received 
constant  accessions  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
and  from  all  parts  of  the  earth,  and  yet  there 
is  room  in  each.  The  sea  is  salt,  and  true 
Christians  are  the  salt  of  the  earth.  The 
church  is  composed  of  the  human  family,  and 
the  sound  of  men,  in  the  busy  haunts  of  life, 
resembles  the  sound  of  many  waters.  The  sea 
possesses  the  elements  of  self-preservation,  as 
does  also  the  church.  So,  then,  it  is  maintained 
that  the  sea,  the  object  upon  which  the  second 
vial  was  poured  out,  was  the  nominal  church 
of  Christ. 

Now,  the  history  of  events  in  question  is, 
that  the  barbarians  overthrew  the  civilization 
of  the  world,  and  the  nominal  church  of  Christ 
became  corrupted  by  receiving  into  it  unworthy 
members,  who  did  not  partake  of,  appreciate, 
or  understand  the  purity  of  its  design  or 
origin. 

Kev.  xvi.  4 :  "  And  the  third  angel  poured  out 
his  vial  upon  the  rivers  and  fountains  of  waters  5 
and  they  became  blood." 


96  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

The  third  vial  was  i^oured  out  upon  the  riv- 
ers and  fountains  of  waters.  By  rivers  and 
fountains  of  waters  we  are  to  understand  some- 
thing like  ordinances  of  religion,  or  principles 
of  Christianity.  According  as  it  is  written: 
"And  he  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of 
life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb." — Rev.  xxii.  1. 
"And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come.  And  who- 
soever will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life 
freely." — Rev.  xxii.  17.  By  blood  is  to  be  un- 
derstood pollution.  According  as  it  is  written 
in  Ezek.  xvi.  6 :  "And  when  I  passed  by  thee, 
and  saw  thee  polluted  in  thine  own  blood." 
The  ordinances  of  Christianity,  like  the  apostle 
himself,  are  a  savor  of  life  unto  life,  or  death 
unto  death.  According  to  the  declaration  of 
the  apostle  as  found  recorded  in  Cor.  ii.  15,  16  : 
"For  we  are  unto  God  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ, 
in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  per- 
ish. To  the  one  we  are  the  savor  of  death 
unto  death,  and  to  the  other  the  savor  of  life 
unto  life."  So,  then,  when  the  apostate  church 
polluted  the  ordinances  of  Christianity,  they 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.         97 

became  an  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  became  the  instruments  of  condemnation, 
instead  of  the  means  of  ^race  And  the  third 
vial  of  God's  wrath  may  be  said  to  be  poured 
out  upon  them  when  they  had  totally  lost  their 
life-giving  efficacy. 

Rev.  xvi.  8 :  "  And  the  fourth  angel  poured 
out  his  vial  upon  the  sun ;  and  power  was 
given  unto  him  to  scorch  men  with  fire." 

And  the  fourth  vial  was  poured  out  upon  the 
sun.  By  the  word  sun  is  to  be  understood  the 
Scriptures  of  truth,  which  are  shown  to  be  the 
equivalents  in  the  following  manner :  Christ  is 
generally  acknowledged  to  be  the  Sun  of 
righteousness.  He  is  also  called  the  Word  of 
God,  according  as  it  is  written  in  Rev.  xix.  13 : 
"  And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in 
blood:  and  his  name  is  called  the  Word  of 
God."  But  the  phrase  "  Word  of  God  "  denotes, 
also,  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  Does  any  one 
maintain  that  we  have  no  authority  for  the 
substitution  of  the  word  Scriptures  for  the  word 
Christ  as  the  signification  of  the  phrase  Word 
of  God.     For  the  benefit  of  such,  I  will  prove 


98  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

that  this  virtually  corresponds  with  the  usage 
of  the  Scriptures.  For  the  word  Christ  is,  by 
the  usage  of  the  Scriptures,  considered  equiv- 
alent to  the  word  gospel,  which  latter  word  I 
will  prove  by  the  peculiarities  of  scriptural 
algebra  equivalent  to  the  entire  "Word  of 
God;"  although,  in  so  doing,  I  shall  be  com- 
pelled to  explain  some  principles  of  scriptural 
algebra  not  otherwise  necessary  to  the  eluci- 
dation of  the  subject.  To  preach  Christ  is  to 
preach  the  gospel,  and  the  latter  is  the  most 
essential  part  of  the  Scriptures,  and  can  not  be 
fully  illustrated  and  established  without  the 
writings  of  all  other  parts  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  The  gospel  is  like  the  vital  parts 
of  the  human  or  any  other  animal  body,  which 
being  destroyed  the  animal  life  is  destroyed 
with  them.  So,  also,  it  is  written  the  Scrip- 
tures can  not  be  broken.  Nor  was  Christ's 
bones  broken  on  the  cross.  For  it  is  written 
in  Heb.iv.l2  :  "The  Word  of  God  is  quick,  pow- 
erful, and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 
piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul 
and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marrow." 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.         99 

The  soul  is  the  life  and  the  spirit  is  the  in- 
tention. The  Scriptures  make  a  distinction 
between  the  gospel,  which  is  the  life  of  the 
Scriptures  and  the  spirit  or  intention  of  other 
parts,  some  of  which  were  written  for  different 
purposes.  And  a  distinction  should  also  be 
observed  between  the  joint  and  marrow.  For 
as  it  is  possible  to  enter  into  life  halt  or 
maimed,  rather  than  having  two  hands  or  two 
feet  to  be  cast  into  hell  fire.  So,  also,  in  the 
living  body,  a  man  may  have  his  hand  or  foot 
severed  from  the  body  without  the  destruction 
of  his  life.  But  the  destruction  of  the  spinal 
marrow  would  cause  death.  The  word  quick 
means  living,  and  the  Scriptures  observe  the 
laws  of  animate  nature.  In  inanimate  na- 
ture,, to  which  the  principles  of  common 
algebra  are  adapted,  the  whole  is  equal  to 
all  the  parts,  and  all  the  parts  are  equal 
to  the  whole.  But  in  animate  nature,  to  which 
the  principles  of  scriptural  algebra  are 
adapted,  the  chief  part  is  equal  to  the  whole, 
and  the  whole  is  equal  to  the  chief  part.  For, 
destroy  the  head,  heart  or  spinal  marrow  in  the 


100  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

human  body,  and  the  life  of  the  body  becomes 
extinct.  So,  also,  the  gospel  bears  the  same 
relation  to  the  rest  of  the  Scriptures  as  the  seat 
of  life  does  in  animate  nature,  that  is  take  it 
away  and  life  becomes  extinct. 

I  have  proved  or  have  it  granted  that  the 
word  Christ  is  equivalent  to  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness, or  the  sun  itself,  the  phrase  Word  of 
God  and  the  gospel.  Therefore,  they  are  sev- 
erally equivalent  to  each  other ;  according  to 
the  mathematical  axiom,  things  which  are 
equal  to  the  same  are  equal  to  each  other. 
And  I  have  also  shown  that  the  gospel  is 
equivalent  to  all  the  Scriptures,  because  all 
parts  of  the  sacred  writings  are  necessary  to 
its  development.  Nor  is  the  sun  an  unsuitable 
representative  of  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  For 
as  the  sun  in  the  natural  world  is  the  source 
of  light,  heat,  and  vitality,  so,  also,  the  Scrip- 
tures or  the  gospel  in  the  spiritual  world  is  the 
source  of  light,  life  and  the  fervor  of  devotion. 
The  fourth  vial  was,  therefore,  poured  out  upon 
the  Scriptures.  That  is,  their  true  interpreta- 
tion became  corrupted ;  for  how  could  a  degen- 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.        101 

erate  church  receive  unworthy  members,  and 
corrupt  the  ordinances  of  Christianity,  and 
give  their  true  interpretation  in  condemnation 
of  their  conduct.  They  must,  therefore,  invent 
false  interpretations  to  justify  themselves. 
According  as  it  is  written:  "And  even  as  they 
did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge, 
God  gave  them  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  to  do 
those  things  which  are  not  convenient." — Kom. 
i.  28.  They  must,  therefore,  invent  false  in- 
terpretations to  justify  themselves.  And  from 
these  false  interpretations  sprang  the  inquisi- 
tion which  persecuted  with  the  sword  and  fagot, 
tortured  them  in  dungeons,  and  burnt  them  at 
the  stake.  So,  then,  was  the  prophecy  fulfilled 
that  power  was  given  unto  the  sun  to  scorch 
men  with  fire. 

Rev.  xvi.  10, 11 :  "  And  the  fifth  angel  poured 
out  his  vial  upon  the  seat  of  the  beast;  and 
his  kingdom  was  full  of  darkness;  and  they 
gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain.  And  blas- 
phemed the  God  of  heaven,  because  of  their 
pains  and  their  sores,  and  repented  not  of  their 
deeds." 


102  ANOTHER   WONDER  IN   HEAVEN. 

The  Mahometan  power  was  raised  up  as  a 
scourge  of  the  kingdoms  occupying  the  terri- 
tory which  formerly  belonged  to  the  Roman 
empire  in  its  brightest  days  of  earthly  glory. 
The  conquests  of  the  Saracens  were  limited  on 
the  west  at  the  Pyrenees  mountains  by  the 
successful  valor  of  Charles  Martel,  a  Christian 
warrior  of  distinction  and  renown.  And  their 
repeated  attacks  on  Constantinople,  on  the 
east,  were  equally  unsuccessful.  This  city  was 
the  capital  of  the  eastern  empire,  which  was 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Greek  church. 
The  northern  part  of  Africa  and  the  European 
dominions  of  Rome,  the  seven-hilled  city,  were 
the  scenes  of  their  devastations,  pillage,  and 
slaughter.  They  were,  therefore,  emphatically 
a  scourge  of  those  inhabiting  the  seat  of  the 
beast — the  great  red  dragon,  having  seven 
heads  and  ten  horns.  But  this  providential 
chastisement  of  the  Almighty  failed  to  accom- 
plish its  intended  beneficial  results.  They  did 
not  renounce  their  cherished  corruptions,  and 
return  to  the  true  worship  of  God. 

Rev.  xvi.  12, 13,  16  :  "  And  the  sixth  angel 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.        103 

poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  great  river 
Euphrates;  and  the  water  thereof  was  dried 
up,  that  the  way  of  the  lungs  of  the  east  might 
be  prepared.  And  I  saw  three  unclean  spirits 
like  frogs  come  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon, 
and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet.  And  he  gath- 
ered them  together  into  a  place  called  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue  Armageddon." 

The  river  Euphrates  was  the  cause  of  the 
greatness  of  Imperial  Babylon,  because  rivers 
have  always  been  selected  as  eligible  places 
near  which  to  build  large  cities,  and  as  Baby- 
lon represents  the  apostate  church,  as  New 
Jerusalem  does  also  the  church  of  Christ,  the 
sixth  vial  was,  therefore,  poured  out  upon  that 
which  constituted  the  greatness  of  the  Apos- 
tate church.  And  what  else  constituted  its 
greatness  but  the  assumptions  of  divine  au- 
thority ?  Its  false  pretentions  and  assumptions 
were  the  object  of  God's  displeasure  and  ven- 
geance. And  in  disturbing  the  blasphemous 
pretensions  of  this  church,  the  way  was  pre- 
pared for  the  true  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 


104  ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

tures,  and  the  reception  of  the  true  Messiah, 
whose  original  advent  upon  the  earth  was  wel- 
comed by  the  wise  men  of  the  east,  who 
adored  him,  and  presented  him  with  kingly 
gifts,  gold,  frankincense,-and  myrrh.  But  this 
introduction  of  a  better  era  was  not  effected 
without  violent  opposition.  The  unreasonable 
sources  of  wrath  were  opposed  against  this 
reformation. 

That  the  way  has  been  prepared  by  the 
pouring  out  of  the  sixth  vial  for  the  extension 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  among 
mankind  may  be  seen  from  the  following  views 
of  the  interposition  of  Divine  Providence 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The  war  in 
China,  in  1848,  between  the  British  and  the 
Chinese  governments,  resulted  favorably  to  the 
English,  although  the  object  of  the  Chinese, 
which  was  to  suppress  the  ruinous  sale  and 
smuggling  of  opium,  was  justifiable.  It  may 
be  that,  in  desiring  to  accomplish  that  object, 
they  deviated  from  moderation  and  equity,  yet 
their  design  was  commendable.  For  it  was 
exceedingly  expensive  as  well  as  injurious  to 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.        105 

the  health  of  the  inhabitants.  The  result  of 
this  war  was  to  continue  the  sale  of  opium  as 
well  as  other  commodities,  and  to  open  the 
ports  of  several  cities  to  the  commerce  of 
Great  Britain.  The  elfect  of  this  new  settle- 
ment of  the  difficulties  was  to  prepare  the  way 
for  the  greater  diffusion  of  knowledge,  and  of 
the  Christian  religion  into  that  extensive  em- 
pire, which  is  supposed  to  contain  about  one- 
third  of  the  population  of  the  world. 

The  late  great  rebellion  in  China,  which  had 
for  its  object  the  expulsion  of  the  Tartar  dy- 
nasty and  the  restoration  of  the  native  Chi- 
nese to  power,  had  a  tendency  to  open  still 
wider  the  gates  of  the  Celestial  empire,  as  it 
is  called,  to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  the 
extension  of  arts  and  commerce,  and  the  spread 
of  the  gospel.  So  that  such  signal  defeats  and 
revolutions  in  the  most  populous  empire  in  the 
world  seem  to  be  the  work  of  God  in  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  So 
that  good  and  wise  men  have  not  hesitated  to 
attribute  it  to  his  beneficial  work. 

A  spiritual  conflict  is   progressing  on   the 


106  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

earth  for  the  extension  of  Christian  knowledge 
and  the  means  of  grace  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth.  And  to  make  the  termination 
of  this  conflict  favorable  to  the  reign  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  God  has  overruled,  and 
still  continues  to  overrule,  the  evil  passions 
of  men  to  accomplish  his  benevolent  purposes 
among  men.  As  another  instance  of  the  inter- 
position of  Divine  Providence  in  the  affairs  of 
men,  and  of  his  using  their  military  prepara- 
tions to  accomplish  his  own  purposes,  I  might 
refer  you  to  the  present  result  and  future  pros- 
pects gained  by  the  suppression  of  the  late 
rebellion  in  our  own  country.  The  slave- 
holder's rebellion  in  the  United  States  has  had 
a  tendency  to  elevate  the  African  race  in  this 
country.  It  has  abolished  those  local  restric- 
tions in  the  slave  states  against  the  education 
of  the  negroes.  And,  although  of  itself  it  has 
not  created  schools  nor  supported  teachers; 
yet  it  has  prepared  the  way  for  all  who  are  fa- 
vorably disposed  to  extend  in  that  direction 
the  sphere  of  their  usefulness.  But  the  influ- 
ence of  the  late  civil  war  in  America  was  not 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.        107 

confined  to  the  United  States  or  even  Europe ; 
for  this  war  affected  the  commerce  and  indus- 
try of  the  world.  The  great  demand  for  raw 
cotton  stimulated  the  production  of  that  com- 
modity in  the  distant  provinces  of  the  British 
in  India.  And  the  tendency  of  a  greater  social 
intercourse  of  the  British  with  their  Asiatic 
provinces,  has  been  to  elevate  the  moral  and 
intellectual  condition  of  the  natives  of  that 
country.  And  the  past  and  the  present  condi- 
tion of  Mexico  has  a  tendency  to  encourage 
Protestant  emigration  from  the  United  States 
into  Catholic  Mexico.  Many  of  these  emigrants 
carry  with  them  the  leaven  of  Protestantism, 
which  may  eventually  leaven  the  whole  lump 
of  the  Mexican  nation. 

Rev.  xvL  17:  "And  the  seventh  angel  poured 
out  his  vial  into  the  air ;  and  there  came  a 
great  voice  out  of  the  temple  of  heaven,  from 
the  throne,  saying,  it  is  done." 

Rev.  xvi  18:  "And  there  were  voices,  and 
thunders,  and  lightnings ;  and  there  was  a  great 
earthq^uake,  such  as  was  not  since  men  were 


108  ANOTHER   WONDER  IN   HEAVEN. 

Upon  the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake,  and 
so  great." 

The  sixth  vial  portrayed  national  calamities, 
in  which  individuals  suffered  but  only  as  com- 
ponent parts  of  the  nations.  The  seventh 
vial  portrays  individual  calamities  directly  of 
a  moral  and  intellectual  kind,  and  indirectly 
attended  with  the  loss  of  pecuniary  honors  and 
emoluments.  The  seventh  vial  may  be  said 
figuratively  to  create  an  overseer  over  all  the 
channels  of  the  communication  of  ideas. 
Whatever  is  in  accordance  with  the  Word  of 
God  will  become  honorable  and  approved. 
And  whatever  shall  not  be  in  accordance  there- 
with shall  be  held  in  contempt  and  derision. 
And  then  will  be  speedily  carried  out  the  dec- 
laration :  "  He  that  honoreth  me  will  I  honor, 
and  he  that  despiseth  me  shall  be  lightly  es- 
teemed." And  this  supervision  shall  extend  to 
all  the  intellectual  labors  of  the  human  race 
without  regard  to  the  intentions  of  individuals, 
and  be  directed  by  the  infallible  decisions  of 
the  divine  mind.  The  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures  will  be  reduced  to  a  mathematical 


THE  LAST  SEVEN  PLAGUES.        109 

certainty.  Intellectual  giants  will  appear  and 
carry  the  banner  of  inspiration  from  one  vic- 
tory to  another,  until  every  thing  in  science 
and  philosophy  incompatible  with  the  Word 
of  God  will  be  routed  and  scouted  from  re- 
spectable society. 

"And  the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
into  the  air."  Wind  in  the  natural  world  is  air 
put  in  motion.  Wind  or  air  puffeth  up ;  as  we 
can  fill  bladders  with  wind  or  air.  It  is  also 
recorded  in  1  Cor.  viii.  1 :  "  Knowledge  puffeth 
up,"  which,  of  course,  must  be  understood  to 
refer  to  false  knowledge,  or  as  it  is  otherwise 
described  by  the  apostle  Paul  as  philosophy 
falsely  so  called:  "Beware  lest  any  man  spoil 
you  through  philosophy  and  vain  deceit." — Col. 
ii.  8.  The  conclusion  of  the  matter  is  this,  that 
air  in  the  natural  world  is  the  gospel  equiva- 
lent for  false  philosophy  in  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual world.  And  the  seventh  vial  of  God's 
wrath  is  poured  out  into  the  air  when  it  is 
poured  out  upon  false  philosophy.  But  it  may 
be  said,  how  can  that  be  a  plague  which  must 
inevitably  be  a  general  blessing  to  the  church 


110  ANOTHER  WONDER  IN  HEAVEN. 

and  the  world.  To  this  it  is  replied  that  a  par- 
tial evil  may  be  a  general  good.  So,  also,  it  is 
written  in  1  Cor.  iii.  12, 15 :  "  Now  if  any  man 
build  upon  this  foundation  gold,  silver,  precious 
stones,  wood,  hay,  stubble.  If  any  man's  work 
shall  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss."  The  in- 
terpretation of  the  prophecy  relating  to  the 
outpouring  of  the  seventh  vial  makes  that 
event  almost  entirely,  yet  in  the  future.  And 
consequently  it  can  be  proved  only  by  the  tes- 
mony  of  one  witness,  namely,  the  book  of  in- 
spiration. I  shall  not,  therefore,  pretend  that 
this  vial  can  now  be  fully  explained  in  all  its 
minute  details.  This  I  have  not  even  attempted 
to  do  in  interpreting  the  six  which  are  already 
or  almost  entirely  past.  For  this  simple  rea- 
son, that  the  time  allotted  to  one  individual, 
burdened  with  domestic  cares,  and  deprived 
of  many  facilities  of  investigation  are  too 
brief  for  so  stupendous  a  task.  I  have,  there- 
fore, come  to  a  conclusion  of  the  subject,  and 
submit  the  matter  for  the  candid  consideration 
of  the  religious  world. 


CONCLUSION.  Ill 


CONCLUSION. 

I  HAVE  completed  the  present  writing  on  the 
last  seven  plagues.  The  subject  is  not  ex- 
hausted, nor  are  all  the  difficulties  overcome. 
For  it  is  written  in  Rev.  xv.  8 :  "And  the  tem- 
ple was  filled  with  smoke  from  the  glory  of 
God,  and  from  his  power;  and  no  man  was  able 
to  enter  into  the  temple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of 
the  seven  angels  were  fulfilled."  It  should  be 
noticed  that  the  text  does  not  say  no  man  was 
able  to  see  into  the  temple,  but  that  no  man 
was  able  to  enter  there.  But  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  inquire  what  is  meant  by  the  word 
temple.  The  Jewish  temple  was  the  local  hab- 
itation of  the  Deity.  Christ  compared  his 
body  to  the  Jewish  temple,  when  he  said, 
"Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will 


112  ANOTHER     WONDER    IN    HEAVEN. 

rear  it  again."  It  is,  therefore,  a  gospel  equiv- 
alent by  comparison.  But  Christ  is  called  the 
Word  of  God,  which  also  means  the  Scriptures 
of  truth.  As  the  temple  is  the  equivalent  for 
Christ,  which  is  also  the  equivalent  for  the 
Word  of  God,  temple  and  Word  of  God  must 
be  equivalent.  For  things  that  are  equal  to 
the  same  are  equal  to  each  other. 

Although  it  is  not  possible  now  to  enter  the 
temple  of  truth  or  fully  understand  all  the 
prophecies  of  Scripture,  because  the  seventh 
vial  is  not  fully  poured  out,  yet,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  outpouring  of  that  vial,  the 
smoke  begins  to  disappear  from  the  temple, 
and  we  are  able  to  see  into  it.  As  Moses,  the 
servant  of  God,  could  see  the  promised  land 
of  Canaan,  although  he  was  not  permitted  to 
enter  therein.  Especially  is  this  the  case  in 
this  instance,  because  it  is  also  written  in  Rev. 
X.  7 :  "  But  in  the  days  of  the  days  of  the  voice 
of  the  seventh  angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to 
sound,  the  mystery  of  God  should  be  finished  as 
he  has  declared  to  his  servants  the  prophets." 
By  this  last  prophecy,  I  understand  that  all  ob- 


CONCLUSION.  113 

stacles  heretofore  placed  in  the  way  of  a  proper 
understanding  or  elucidation  of  the  subject 
will  be  removed  by  the  interposition  of  Divine 
Providence.  And  the  subject  thereafter  will 
yield  to  human  investigation  and  persevering 
study.  I  do  not  expect,  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances,  to  be  able  to  fathom  all 
the  mysteries  of  the  Apocalypse.  In  his  own 
suitable  time,  the  Lord  will  raise  up  the  proper 
men  to  accomplish  that  work.  But  what  I  do 
expect  to  accomplish  is  to  show  to  the  world 
that  it  is  possible  to  explain  that  book  in  a 
consistent,  intelligible,  and  reliable  manner,  to 
the  understandings  of  all  men,  whether  learned 
or  unlearned. 

Nor  do  I  expect  to  accomplish  this  without 
divine  assistance.  For  God  has  reserved  the 
honor  of  that  discovery  to  himself.  The  battle 
is  not  to  the  strong,  nor  the  revelation  to  the 
most  profound  in  biblical  attainments.  Ac- 
cording as  it  is  written  in  Matt.  xi.  25,  26  :  "I 
thank  thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from 
the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them 


114  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN  HEAVEN. 

unto  babes.  Even  so,  Father ;  for  so  it  seemed 
good  in  thy  sight."  Accordingly,  the  primary 
cause  of  all  my  efforts  in  studying,  speaking, 
and  writing  on  the  book  of  Revelation  was  the 
following  dream.  I  dreamed  that  I  was  in  the 
New  Jerusalem.  That  I  was  disappointed  in 
finding  it  an  earthly  city  instead  of  a  heavenly 
one.  That  I  was  in  a  room  of  a  house  of  an 
ordinary  appearance  in  which  I  saw  men  and 
women  dressed  differently.  That  I  noticed  one 
woman  in  particular  who  was  dressed  in  a 
common  calico  dress,  having  a  pale  counte- 
nance. That  I  asked  why  she  looked  so  pale, 
and  was  informed  the  reason  was  that  she 
might  be  known.  And  that  I  saw  in  the  room 
a  barrel  resembling  a  flour  barrel  about  half 
full  of  fruit,  about  the  size  of  a  large  peach  or 
a  small  apple  as  bright  as  gold.  Then  I  awoke 
and  found  it  was  a  dream.  The  subject,  I 
doubt  not,  will  meet  the  scrutiny  of  the  learned 
and  unlearned.  For  God's  mysterious  provi- 
dence hovers  over  my  path,  making  me  willing, 
in  the  day  of  his  power,  to  risk  the  necessary 
pecuniary  means,  and  to  forego  the  ease  and 


CONCLUSION.  115 

comforts  of  home,  in  order  to  spread  a  knowl- 
edge of  my  investigations  among  the  hovels 
of  the  poor,  and  the  mansions  of  the  wise  and 
great.  The  sympathy  of  mankind  will  be  ex- 
cited in  my  behalf,  and  cause  them  to  buy  the 
book  from  motives  of  humanity  as  well  as 
from  a  sense  of  religious  duty.  And  when  the 
end  designed  is  accomplished,  I  trust  the  af- 
fliction will  be  removed,  and  we  will  all  rejoice 
in  the  mercy  as  we  now  grieve  under  the  power 
of  God. 

Some  may  scoff  at  the  idea  of  the  interpo- 
sition of  Divine  Providence  in  this  age  of  the 
world,  and  suppose  that  such  interpositions 
were  confined  to  the  Jews,  the  chosen  people 
of  God  in  the  Old  Testament  dispensation,  and 
to  the  apostles  and  evangelists  of  the  New. 
They  may  obliterate  from  their  own  memories, 
but  they  can  not  blot  out  from  the  pages  of 
history  the  record  of  such  interpositions.  The 
history  of  Cyrus  the  Great  is  recorded  by 
Heroditus  and  Justin,  as  well  as  by  the  words 
of  inspiration.  The  dream  of  his  grandfather 
Astyages,  its  interpretation  by  the  wise  men 


116  ANOTHER  WONDER    IN  HEAVEN. 

of  that  time,  and  the  means  used  to  defeat  it, 
are  all  a  matter  of  history.  The  dream,  ac- 
cording to  the  interpretation  of  the  wise  men, 
predicted  the  birth  of  a  grandson,  who  would 
dethrone  his  grandfather,  and  conquer  all 
Asia.  Astyages  took  measures  to  defeat  this 
catastrophy,  by  even  plotting  the  exposure  of 
the  child  to  a  cruel  death.  But  the  devices 
of  men  proved  unavailing,  and,  in  the  hands 
of  God,  the  means  of  its  fulfillment.  So,  also, 
Alexander  the  Great  was  inspired  with  his  ex- 
traordinary courage,  perseverance,  and  un- 
bounded ambition,  by  a  dream  inviting  him  to 
come  over  and  conquer  Asia.  And  when  the 
Jewish  high  priest  met  him  with  a  supplicating 
train  beseeching  his  clemency  and  forbearance, 
the  great  conqueror  acknowledged  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  dream,  and  conferred  upon  the  sup- 
pliants the  blessings  they  sought.  Need  I 
add  that  Julius  Caesar  and  Bonaparte  also  be- 
lieved in  a  Divine  Providence,  or  predeter- 
mined destiny.  If  such  men  as  these  were 
raised  up  to  accomplish  some  purposes  pre- 
dicted in  the  divine  record,  is  it  absurd  to  sup- 


CONCLUSION. 


117 


pose  that  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  Mil- 
lennium will  not  be  fulfilled  by  the  interposi- 
tion of  Divine  Providence  in  the  affairs  of  men. 
I  trust  there  will  be  few  intelligent  Christians 
willing  to  controvert  this  position. 

And  the  question  only  remains  whether  the 
means  proposed  are  adequate  to  so  stupendous 
a  task  as  the  unfolding  the  mysteries  of  the 
Apocalypse,  or  ushering  in  the  light  which 
shall  illuminate  the  world  in  the  Millennial 
day. 

The  author  of  this  book  contends  that  the 
science  of  scriptural  algebra,  when  fully  and 
universally  understood,  is  competent  to  the 
task.  He  has  given  practical  examples  of  the 
solution  of  some  problems  by  means  of  this 
science,  without  explaining  those  principles  in 
a  formal  manner.  Necessity  required  this 
method  in  order  to  be  understood. 

The  principle  of  the  substitution  of  equiva- 
lents is  so  obvious  that  many  suppose  they 
have  always  practiced  it.  Perhaps  such  per- 
sons do  not  know  the  trials  and  experiments 
which  the  author  has  used  to  come  at  these 


118  ANOTHER    WONDER    IN   HEAVEN. 

conclusions.  The  principles  of  a  science  are 
often  learned  as  well  by  trying  examples  in 
which  the  solution  is  not  solved,  as  in  those 
which  are.  It  is  reserved  for  another  occasion, 
and  the  publication  of  another  book,  to  treat 
the  subject  in  a  more  formal  and  scientific  man- 
ner. Perhaps,  on  the  examination  of  some  of 
the  curious  results  of  this  science,  some  people 
might  be  better  prepared  to  judge  whether 
they  have  always  practiced  these  principles  in 
exactly  the  same  manner. 

But  I  will  bring  my  book  to  a  close  by  an- 
swering one  objection,  which,  I  suppose,  will 
be  asked.  If  the  principle  of  the  substitution 
of  equivalents  is  so  obvious  as  to  appear  al- 
most inherent  in  the  human  mind,  how  has  it 
happened  that'the  extension  and  scientific  ar- 
rangement of  this  principle  should  have  been 
overlooked.  It  can  only  be  accounted  for  on 
the  supposition  that  God  ordained  it  so  to  be. 
According  to  the  declaration  of  inspiration 
recorded  in  Rev.  x.  1 :  "  And  I  saw  another 
mighty  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  clothed 
with  a  cloud."    And  this  prophecy  of  the  vision 


CONCLUSION.  119 

of  John  was  fulfilled  by  those  changes  and 
obliterations  of  the  learning  of  antiquity  when 
those  libraries,  which  contained  the  scientific 
attainments  of  the  ancient  nations  of  the  world, 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  during  the  wars  of  the 
barbarians  and  Saracens  with  the  civilized 
world.  Thus  verifying  the  declaration,  he  doeth 
his  will  among  the  armies  of  heaven,  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth. 


